The South Dakota State football team has one last chance to make a statement, and the Jacks are hopeful it’s enough to land them a spot in the Football Championship Series playoffs.
The Jackrabbits travel to Western Illinois today to end the regular season.
The Jackrabbits will likely secure an at-large spot in the 16-team FCS playoffs with a victory today.
In the 25-year history of the league, no MVFC team has missed out on the postseason with eight victories over Division I opponents.
“We are excited to be in that situation. Those are things some programs take for granted because of their history; they’ve been there, they understand that, and this is new ground for us,” SDSU head coach John Stiegelmeier said. “We are excited but serious and we hope to go down there, play some good football and get a win.”
South Dakota State enters the matchup with a 7-3 overall record, including a 6-1 mark in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Jackrabbits, ranked 12th in both the Sports Network media poll and FCS coaches’ poll, can secure sole possession of second place in the league standings with a victory and also reach the eight-win mark for the first time since 1999.
Western Illinois is looking to avoid a winless season in conference play. After winning their season opener against Sam Houston State, the Fighting Leathernecks have dropped their last nine games, including all seven against Missouri Valley Football Conference foes.
“We know (SDSU) is going to come in here very determined, very focused and we are going to do all we can, of course, to pick up our first conference victory,” Western Illinois interim head coach Mark Hendrickson said.
It has been a difficult season for the Western Illinois.
Besides being mired in last place in the MVFC, the Fighting Leathernecks are in the midst of a nine-game losing streak and have undergone a midseason coaching change.
Longtime head coach Don Patterson, who battled cancer a year ago, stepped down Sept. 25 due to health concerns. Hendrickson, the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator, has filled in as head coach on an interim basis.
“We didn’t anticipate, initially, when we started the season, when we started camp that we wouldn’t finish the season with coach Patterson,” Hendrickson said. “So that’s been a big change. It’s been a real challenge as the season has progressed because things have happened in the opposite way that we anticipated that they would. Especially with the wins and losses.”
The Leatherneck offense has struggled in Missouri Valley Football Conference play, scoring no more than 21 points in any league game and being held to one touchdown or less in three consecutive contests.
South Dakota State has lost two games in a row, including last week’s sloppy 16-13 loss to Minnesota, in search of that elusive eighth win of the season. Stiegelmeier said he’s confident his team will get into the playoffs with a win today, but that’s not what the team is focusing on.
“We haven’t talked about it. We’ve talked about having four days, three days left together guaranteed,” Stiegelmeier said. “Our seniors have approached it that way. They’ve talked about 99 days at the start of the season and we are down to a handful of days. We are just trying to enjoy and get as much out of this and play our best football.”
Playoff selections will be made between 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. MST on ESPNews on Sunday.
