BROOKINGS What was supposed to be a bounce back game for South Dakota State ended up being a shocking upset as Indiana State beat the No. 4 ranked Jackrabbits 24-12 at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium on Saturday.
SDSU lost its first game of the season last week after falling 38-7 to No. 1 North Dakota State. The Jacks were hoping to put that game behind them and get a win over a team that had not won in conference play. Instead, their offense fell flat and they had too many mistakes.
Credit to coach [Curt] Mallory and Indiana State, said SDSU head coach Dan Jackson. They just made the plays to win the football game. I think statistically you can look at it and see a lot of really good things for us. But at the end of the day, the only stat that matters is the score. I think it just gets down to mistakes.
SDSU kicked a 44-yard field goal on its first drive of the game. Rashad Rochelle then returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown and Indiana State led 7-3 with 11:25 left in the first quarter. Jackson said he thought the energy going into the game was good and it was good even after the kickoff return.
I thought the energy was there. The guys had a really good week. I think confidence is created through preparation, so I need to take some ownership and see if theres anything we need to do differently there. I thought the guys [were ready to go in] the warmups, locker room, the togetherness. All of those things were there, Jackson said.
The Jacks moved the ball past the ISU 25 yard line again but this time Luke Marble threw an interception in the end zone. The Sycamores did not capitalize on the turnover but SDSU was forced to punt on its next drive. However, the Jacks faked the punt as Max Pelham passed to Koby Bretz. Bretz gained 28 yards on the play but fumbled the ball and the Sycamores recovered it on their own 29.
Jackson said other than two made field goals, special teams was an issue on Saturday.
A couple of the penalties cant happen on special teams. Whether its a block in the back or something that happens. The kickoff return [was not good] and then we had a really well executed fake punt where coach [Isaiah] Jackson did a good job of finding [Bretz] earlier in the week and knowing he would be there and it was there. Thats an opportunity to set your offense up in really good field position to go score and create some momentum and we fumble it. That just gets back to the detail and the focus, Jackson said.
The Sycamores would then hit a field goal to make it 10-3 one minute into the second quarter. SDSU moved into field goal range again and the drive stalled out, forcing Eli Stader to make a 46-yard field goal to make it 10-6 with 9:27 left in the first half. Neither team scored the rest of the half.
Each team punted on their first drive of the second half. ISU then put together the first touchdown drive of the game for either team as Keegan Patterson found Rashad Rochelle for a 14-yard score to put the Sycamores up 17-6 with just over five minutes left in the third quarter.
Indiana State took that lead into the fourth quarter. SDSU moved the ball again past midfield but had Marble punt the ball on fourth and six on the first play of the fourth quarter.
The Jacks would force another punt and this time they put together their first touchdown drive of the game as Marble found Alex Bullock for a 27-yard score on third and 11. The Jacks failed on the two-point conversion and SDSU trailed 17-12 with 8:36 to play.
SDSU would get the ball back with just under eight minutes to go. The Jacks moved into ISU territory but their drive would stall out again. This time they failed to convert on fourth and seven at the ISU 29.
The Jacks had 12 drives on Saturday and 11 of them ended in Indiana State territory. However, none of them ended in the red zone and SDSU only scored 12 points despite having 441 yards of offense. Jackson said he thinks his offense needs to be more explosive, even when they have multiple starters out due to injury.
I think we need to take a deep dive [into the offensive struggles] even more. I think we need to be really open and transparent and honest with ourselves about what we need to do. When different guys are in and out of the lineup, it may need to look different at times and not be the same old things. I think our offensive game plans have been good, but I think a lot of it comes back to [the lack of] explosive plays, Jackson said.
Indiana State would put the game away with just over three minutes to play as Patterson connected with Rochelle again. This time it was a 57-yard touchdown and that put the Sycamores up two scores and ended any hope of a Jackrabbit comeback.
Indiana State had 228 total yards on the day and 121 of them came on the Sycamores two touchdown drives. SDSU linebacker Joe Ollman said the Jacks lacked focus on each of those drives.
There was a lack of focus in those big moments. They are a faster offense and like to keep the tempo up, and in those big moments we have to make sure we have our focus up as well because thats the goal they have in mind. To try to get your eyes to do something wrong or have your feet wrong. So, in those moments we just have to make sure we have our focus at a high level, Ollman said.
This was Marbles second start of his career as he is playing inplace of Chase Mason who got hurt two weeks ago. Marble had to exit the game in the fourth quarter due to an injury but was 17-of-29 for 181 yards on Saturday. Jackson said Marble entered the game already banged up and does not know the status for him going forward. He added that Mason, who is dealing with a foot injury, may be ready to play next week against South Dakota.
I think [Marble] is tough. He came into the game injured and he knew he needed to play. He took some hits tonight and ran the ball hard. Ill have to look at his injury. I know we lost a few guys tonight and I dont know the severity of those. [Mason] is getting better. Hes out of the boot. He doesnt need to get back in the boot and is throwing the ball. He wants to be out there and has had next week circled, so well see about his progress, Jackson said.
With the loss, SDSUs hope of being a top-eight seed now hinges on winning out. The Jacks (7-2) play at South Dakota next week and then close the season out with a home game against Illinois State and a game at North Dakota.
Ollman said the Jacks need to have a sense of urgency as they head into the final three games of the season.
This has been tough. Weve battled through a lot these past couple months, dating back to January or so. I think we need to have some urgency going into next week. We have to improve. We have to find ways that we can get better as a team, individuals, coaches, everybody. Everybody in this building, we have to find ways to get better, Ollman said.
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