Jackrabbits look to break semfinal slump

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BROOKINGS – South Dakota State has been in this position before. Win, and you get to travel to Frisco, Texas, to play for an FCS National Championship. 

This time, it’s different. SDSU gets to play the game in Brookings at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium. The No. 1 seeded Jackrabbits will take on Delaware Saturday at 11 a.m. in the FCS Playoffs semifinals.

SDSU (7-1) made it to the semifinals in 2017 and 2018. The Jacks fell to No. 1 James Madison 51-16 in 2017 and lost to No. 1 seeded North Dakota State 44-21 in 2018. SDSU head coach John Stiegelmeier said he hasn’t talked to his team about the two previous semifinal losses.

“The one thing we’ve changed [with this semifinal] is we’re at home and not on the road, and we accomplished that through a very good season as a football program. We don’t change anything. 1-0 today, 1-0 tomorrow. … We haven’t talked about the other two semifinal losses. Some of these guys were a part of that, but we just play in the present,” Stiegelmeier said.

The Jacks are coming off of a 31-26 comeback win against Southern Illinois in the quarterfinals. SDSU trailed 20-10 at halftime, but forced three turnovers in the second half to come away with the win.

Delaware (7-0) defeated No. 4 Jacksonville State 20-14 on the road in the quarterfinals. The Blue Hens went up 14-0 and didn’t look back. They held the Gamecocks to just 200 yards of offense.

The Blue Hens are similar to the Jacks in that they play good defense. Delaware is No. 3 in the FCS in total defense, giving up just 223 yards per game. 

“[Delaware] is good at everything,” Stiegelmeier said. “Normally, as a coach, you look for a weakness or an advantage. There are none. I think the most impressive part is their defense. For the most part, they play an odd front. They play what we call star, so they have an extra safety. The three up front guys are heavyweight fighters. 

“They are tough son of guns. They’re able to play to the point of attack because of their three safeties. Their corners are very good and then you look at their stats and they’re very good on defense. … In the semifinals you should have two really good football teams battling for a chance for the prize and that’s what we expected and what we’re planning for.”

The Delaware defense will face its toughest test yet with SDSU. The Jacks average 414 yards per game on offense. 238.8 of those yards come on the ground, which is sixth in the FCS.

SDSU’s rushing attack is a three-headed monster in junior running back Pierre Strong Jr., freshman running back Isaiah Davis and freshman quarterback Mark Gronowski. Strong averages 82.4 yards per game, Davis averages 71.2 yards and Gronowski averages 67.5. The three have combined for 16 touchdowns with Gronowski and Davis each having seven.

Gronowski has gotten it done through the air as well. He has thrown for 1,387 yards, 13 touchdowns and three interceptions.

The Blue Hens like to go on long drives. Delaware is sixth in the FCS in time of possession averaging 34 minutes per game. UD held the ball for 38:25 in the win over Jacksonville State last week. 

Delaware is led by redshirt junior quarterback Nolan Henderson. Henderson has thrown for 1,340 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions this season while completing 68.6% of his passes. He was 18-for-28 with 239 yards and an interception last week.

SDSU allowed Southern Illinois’ quarterback, Stone Lebanowitz, to throw for 247 yards last week. The Jacks also allowed SIU to convert nine of its 17 third down attempts. Stiegelmeier credited Lebanowitz for the third down conversions and said Henderson and Lebanowitz are a lot alike in terms of their mentality.

“I don’t think [the third down conversions] were as much the coverage as it was [Lebanowitz] playing at the top of his game and that’s what you need to do at this point of the season. … I think both [Henderson and Lebanowitz] are gritty type guys. I think they are fine tucking the ball, in fact they relish, if they can’t get the first down throwing the ball, getting it with their feet. I think Delaware’s quarterback showed that in their win last week. … I know they’re both playmakers and will run and pass,” Stiegelmeier said.

Junior Thyrick Pitts and senior Gene Coleman II are Delaware’s leading receivers. Pitts has 27 catches for 431 yards and three touchdowns. Coleman has 390 yards and a touchdown on 38 catches. Coleman had 10 catches for 129 yards in last week’s win.

Dejoun Lee is the lead back for a Blue Hen offense that averages 160.9 yards per game on the ground. He averages 79.3 yards per game and Khory Spruill averages 47.7 yards per game. Lee has six touchdowns on the year.

The Blue Hens will have a tough task in front of them as SDSU has the No. 19 ranked defense in the country. The Jacks give up 288 total yards and 118 yards rushing.

In its past three games, SDSU has not had a turnover and have forced five. The Jacks have forced 16 turnovers this season while committing nine. That ranks tied for 13th in the FCS. Delaware has an even better margin as the Blue Hens have forced 18 and have lost 11. That is second in the FCS.

This is the second time SDSU and UD have played. The Blue Hens blew out the Jacks 26-3 in a regular season matchup in 2010. Saturday’s matchup between the Jackrabbits and Blue Hens will be televised on ESPN. The winner of Saturday’s game will play either No. 2 Sam Houston State or No. 3 James Madison on May 16.

A trip to Frisco would mean a lot to this SDSU program. It’s something the Jacks have been building towards for the past 11 years since they first made the FCS Playoffs in 2009. The ultimate goal is to win the whole thing, but getting to Frisco would mean SDSU is one step closer.

“For me specifically, I’m very appreciative of the opportunity,” Stiegelmeier said. “I’m not trying to get too high and too excited, but I do know through the correspondents I get hourly from alumni that I don’t know and alumni that I coach, people are excited. People are proud. People are appreciative of what our program has accomplished, but more importantly what our program stands for. The student-athlete and success in all areas of their existence. 

“You know what though, [we] have to win today in order to have a chance to win tomorrow and that’s what we’re focused on. I’d love to even daydream about what it would mean to go to Frisco and stuff, but right now we have to win a semifinal, which we have not done.”