2019 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team

The 2019 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 23rd-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 8–5 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for third in the MVFC. South Dakota State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where, after a first round bye, the Jackrabbits lost to Northern Iowa in the second round. The team played home games on campus at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.

2019 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football
ConferenceMissouri Valley Football Conference
Ranking
STATSNo. 10
FCS CoachesNo. 12
Record8–5 (5–3 MVFC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJason Eck (1st season)
Co-defensive coordinatorBrian Bergstrom (1st season)
Co-defensive coordinatorJimmy Rogers (1st season)
Home stadiumDana J. Dykhouse Stadium
Seasons
← 2018
2020 →
2019 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 1 North Dakota State $^ 80  160 
No. 5 Northern Iowa ^ 62  105 
No. 7 Illinois State ^ 53  105 
No. 10 South Dakota State ^ 53  85 
Southern Illinois 53  75 
South Dakota 44  57 
Indiana State 35  57 
Youngstown State 26  66 
Missouri State 17  110 
Western Illinois 17  111 
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

Preseason

MVFC poll

In the MVFC preseason poll released on July 29, 2019, the Jackrabbits were predicted to finish in second place.[1]

Predicted finishTeamVotes (1st place)
1North Dakota State392 (32)
2South Dakota State348 (4)
3Illinois State289 (3)
4Indiana State279 (1)
5Northern Iowa266
6South Dakota176
7Youngstown State153
8Western Illinois128
9Southern Illinois89
10Missouri State80

Preseason All–MVFC team

The Jackrabbits had five players selected to the preseason all-MVFC team.[2]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 299:00 p.m.at Minnesota*No. 3FS1L 21–2849,112
September 76:00 p.m.LIU*No. 3ESPN3W 38–310,153
September 141:00 p.m.Drake*No. 3
  • Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
  • Brookings, SD
MidcoW 38–1011,565
September 217:00 p.m.Southern Utah*No. 3
  • Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
  • Brookings, SD
MidcoW 43–714,269
October 52:00 p.m.Southern IllinoisNo. 3
  • Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
  • Brookings, SD
ESPN+W 28–1013,776
October 125:00 p.m.at No. 19 Youngstown StateNo. 3ESPN+W 38–2812,381
October 1912:00 p.m.at Indiana StateNo. 3ESPN3W 42–234,642
October 262:00 p.m.No. 1 North Dakota StateNo. 3
ESPN+, MidcoL 16–2319,371
November 22:00 p.m.at Missouri StateNo. 4ESPN3W 35–145,108
November 92:00 p.m.No. 11 Illinois StateNo. 4
  • Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
  • Brookings, SD
ESPN+L 18–277,211
November 162:00 p.m.No. 4 Northern IowaNo. 8
  • Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
  • Brookings, SD
ESPN3W 38–77,317
November 232:00 p.m.at South DakotaNo. 5ESPN+, MidcoL 21–245,405
December 71:00 p.m.No. 6 Northern Iowa*No. 10
ESPN3L 10–134,102

[3][4]

Game summaries

At Minnesota

1234Total
No. 3 Jackrabbits0714021
Golden Gophers0137828

LIU

1234Total
Sharks03003
No. 3 Jackrabbits71414338

Drake

1234Total
Bulldogs030710
No. 3 Jackrabbits10714738

Southern Utah

1234Total
Thunderbirds07007
No. 3 Jackrabbits71415743

Southern Illinois

1234Total
Salukis370010
No. 3 Jackrabbits6312728

At Youngstown State

1234Total
No. 3 Jackrabbits30132238
No. 19 Penguins777728

At Indiana State

1234Total
No. 3 Jackrabbits7280742
Sycamores737623

North Dakota State

1234Total
No. 1 Bison0313723
No. 3 Jackrabbits603716

At Missouri State

1234Total
No. 4 Jackrabbits6871435
Bears0001414

Illinois State

1234Total
No. 11 Redbirds7331427
No. 4 Jackrabbits387018

Northern Iowa

1234Total
No. 4 Panthers00707
No. 8 Jackrabbits07102138

At South Dakota

1234Total
No. 5 Jackrabbits707721
Coyotes01014024

FCS Playoffs

The Jackrabbits entered the postseason tournament as the number seven seed, with a first-round bye.[5]

Northern Iowa–Second Round

1234Total
No. 6 Panthers037313
No. 10 Jackrabbits1000010

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213Final
STATS FCS3 (1)3333333344851010
Coaches43333333354951212

References