Nov. 19—BROOKINGS — Back in 2011, South Dakota State’s football schedule called for their bye to come in the final week of the regular season. They went just 5-6 that year, missing the playoffs, meaning their season was over on the early date of Nov. 12.
Ever since then, Jackrabbit fans have been able to count on following their team into December.
The Jacks began a run of 13 consecutive seasons qualifying for the FCS playoffs the very next year, and only in 2015, when they lost in the first round at Montana, did their season end in November.
But if the Jacks can’t find a way to snap their four-game losing streak on Saturday in Grand Forks, SDSU fans, players and coaches are going to sit down for Thanksgiving dinner without a game to look forward to for the first time in a long time.
South Dakota State will take on North Dakota in the regular season finale on Saturday at the Alerus Center in a game between two 7-4 teams in which it’s widely assumed the winner will be assured of a playoff spot and the loser will be a longshot.
It’s a difficult place for the Jacks to find themselves in.
The Jacks have reached the semifinal round every year since 2020, going to the national championship three times, winning twice. They had seemingly pulled even with, if not surpassed, their rivals of North Dakota State as the premier program in the FCS. Making the playoffs and advancing deep into December had become a baseline expectation, and the concept of having to fight just to make the playoffs was supposed to be ancient history.
But here they are.
“We’re approaching this game like a playoff game,” said tight end Greyton Gannon.
That’s how the Jacks approached the last two games as well. Since their shocking home loss to Indiana State the Jacks dropped a well-played and hard-fought rivalry game to South Dakota, then last week dug themselves a 35-0 hole with an embarrassing first quarter, before fighting back to give themselves a chance.
Somehow they’ve got to find a way to put it all together in this one, because missing the playoffs just two years removed from a national championship, in a season where they were at one point 7-0 and ranked 2nd in the nation, would be a depressing chapter in the program’s story.
“(The players) know the standard is beyond the playoffs and, you know, I actually take pride in that,” said coach Dan Jackson. “Because I got here in 2012 as a graduate assistant and everybody spoke about not making the playoffs, and that was the initial goal, was to make the playoffs. So I saw in 2012 that being a big deal, to make the playoffs, and then the standards changing throughout that time from making the playoffs to earning a bye to becoming a top four seed to being a top two seed. And I just, you know, saw the gradual growth of the program to where the standards and the goals rose to and that’s a huge reason why I came back here is to not let those standards slip.”
The Jacks have a case for the playoffs even if they lose and fall to 7-5. Plenty of seven win teams have made the tournament before, and SDSU has arguably the best non-conference win of the season (an early season defeat of No. 3 Montana State), as well as quality wins over Youngstown State and Sacramento State. They’ve become one of the FCS’s most well-known brands, and could be getting back starting quarterback Chase Mason (who led them to their 7-0 start before going down with a foot injury).
On the other hand, it’d be hard to argue that a team on a five-game losing streak is deserving of one of the limited number of at-large spots. The loss to Indiana State and first quarter debacle against Illinois State certainly work against them.
UND is in a similar boat. They would have a decent case at 7-5, more due to the quality of their losses than any wins. They lost by a field goal to Kansas State, by a point at No. 2 Montana, by five to No. 1 North Dakota State, and on the road against No. 16 South Dakota. But a loss to SDSU would be their third in a row, and they’d be in line behind NDSU, USD, Illinois State, SDSU and Youngstown State.
The Hawks have a strong tradition of defending their home turf at the Alerus Center, but the Jacks have had their share of success there. In 2022 they fell behind 14-0 but roared back to win 49-35. Last year they slammed UND 38-7 in Grand Forks, and even in their last loss there, in February of 2020, the Jacks had chances to win, largely beating themselves in what was then-freshman quarterback Mark Gronowski’s second career start.
It’s also tempting to wonder if the Jacks are better off on the road for a must-win game at this point.
The Jacks’ 33-game home winning streak ended with a 35-7 thumping to NDSU, and they followed it up with two of the worst performances in recent program history. Maybe that was a coincidence, but maybe it wasn’t. Maybe a team under a new coach with dozens of new players is feeling the weight of expectations that was created by players and coaches that aren’t even here anymore, and it affected them negatively against the Sycamores and Redbirds.
The best game SDSU has played during their losing streak, by far, was their loss to USD.
“I think there’s maybe a heightened sense of focus when you’re together the night before the game and there’s a good level of structure with how we travel and operate that way,” Jackson said. “I don’t know if that’s anything other than coincidence, but our guys don’t flinch going on the road, definitely. And they embrace those opportunities. And I think we do a good job throughout the week preparing them for what they’re going to see. So I’m looking forward to seeing how we go compete on the road. I enjoy road games because of that, because it’s just you and the guys and you against the world a little bit mindset.”
Indeed, playing with their backs to the wall is pretty much the one card the Jacks have left to play. The swagger of a two-time national champion is gone, even if only temporarily.
Jackrabbit fans can remember seeing Valley teams like Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, Western Illinois and even this year USD, reach a point in a season where one more loss would knock them from the playoff picture, only to rally and win the games needed to punch their ticket. SDSU hasn’t been in that situation in years.
Now they are, and they need to embrace it.
“You should play every week with a chip on your shoulder, but I think (the playoff picture) definitely puts it right in front of you,” Jackson said. “There’s no hiding from it at this point. It’s us or them. You’ve got two teams with the exact same record. They’ve lost two of the last three games themselves, and they’ve got guys banged up. This is two teams that are just going to be laying it out on the line for more time together.”
