Jacks headed back to FCS semifinals

Saturday, December 8

Kennesaw, Ga.

2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT

South Dakota State University

10-2 , 6-2

Kennesaw State

11-2 , 5-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

South Dakota State

Kennesaw State

Photo by: Anthony Hall

12/8/2018 5:10:00 PM | Football

Box Score

KENNESAW, Ga. – The South Dakota State University football team is headed back to the Football Championship Subdivision semifinals after grinding out a 27-17 victory over fourth-seeded Kennesaw State Saturday afternoon at a rain-soaked Fifth Third Bank Stadium.

The fifth-seeded Jackrabbits ran their winning streak to six games in improving to 10-2 overall. KSU had its 11-game winning streak snapped in ending its season at 11-2.

SDSU never trailed in the contest, building a 17-3 cushion with two second-quarter touchdowns after the teams traded field goals in the opening stanza. Adam Anderson gave the Jackrabbits a 10-3 lead with a catch over a defender in the left corner of the end zone on a fade route. The pass play from Taryn Christion was from five yards out.

After forcing their second turnover on downs in the game, the Jackrabbits put together a nine-play, 68-yard scoring drive that consumed nearly four minutes. A 29-yard pass from Christion to Cade Johnson put the ball in scoring position before Pierre Strong, Jr. carried the final nine yards on third and goal for his 10^th rushing touchdown of the season with 2 minutes and 26 seconds to play in the first half.

A 23-yard field goal by Chase Vinatieri boosted the SDSU lead to 20-3 late in the third quarter.

Kennesaw State rallied behind backup quarterback Daniel David in the second half. David, who came on in relief of an injured Chandler Burks early in the second quarter, led the Owls on two fourth-quarter scoring drives. First, Kennesaw State marched 73 yards on seven plays, capping the drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass from David to Jake McKenzie.

The Owls put together a nine-play, 91-yard drive to pull to within 20-17 with 6:42 to play in regulation as David dove across the goal line from a yard out. That touchdown was set up by a 38-yard pass over the middle from David to Isaac Foster.

The Jackrabbits put the game away with perhaps their most important drive of the season. Facing third-and-12 from their own 33, Christion scrambled, rolled to the right and connected with Cade Johnson down field in the right flat for a 33-yard gain and fresh set of downs. Strong picked up another first down before Christion again converted on third down by keeping and running up the middle for a 15-yard touchdown with 2:22 to play. The eight-play, 65-yard drive chewed up more than four minutes.

An interception by Logan Backhaus on the ensuing KSU possession sealed the Jackrabbit victory.

Strong topped the 100-yard mark for the fourth time in five games, carrying 18 times for 112 yards. Christion completed 12-of-18 passes for 147 yards and added 37 yards on the ground on nine carries. Johnson caught four passes for 72 yards to lead the receiving corps.

Defensively, the Jackrabbits held Kennesaw State's triple option attack to 28 points under its season scoring average. The Owls won the total-offense battle, 418-308, rushing for 312 yards and throwing for 106 more, but turned the ball over two times. Darnell Holland led the KSU rushing attack with 92 yards on eight carries, with Burks tallying 34 yards on seven carries before leaving with an injury. David tallied 94 yards through the air on 5-of-11 passing to go along with 65 yards on the ground.

Christian Rozeboom posted a game-high 14 tackles, including three tackles for loss, for SDSU. Backhaus and Brandon Snyder each registered six stops.

UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits will travel to top-seeded North Dakota State in semifinal action Friday night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Fargodome, with television coverage on ESPN2. SDSU will receive a limited number of tickets, which will be made available to Jackrabbit Club members based on donation level. To request tickets, fill out the following form.

Tickets for the general public will go sale online at 3 p.m. Sunday at GoBison.com/tickets. Any remaining tickets can be ordered over the phone by calling 1-888-231-NDSU starting at 8 a.m. Monday.

NOTES

Saturday's game marked the first-ever meeting between SDSU and Kennesaw State in football and also the first time the Jackrabbits faced a Big South Conference opponent
SDSU has scored first in all 12 games this season
The Jackrabbits have scored in 44 of 48 quarters – plus an overtime session – this season
SDSU has scored in 25 consecutive quarters, dating back to the fourth quarter of their Oct. 20 game at Northern Iowa
Rozeboom posted the 18^th double-digit tackle performance of his career and moved into second place on the SDSU career tackles chart with 353
The Jackrabbits have forced at least one turnover in 36 of 38 games over the last three seasons, including 11 of 12 in 2018
SDSU improved to 8-7 in FCS playoff games
The Jackrabbits held a 30:39 to 29:21 advantage in time of possession
Vinatieri moved into sole possession of third place for career field goals at SDSU with 38, breaking a tie with Brett Gorden (36 from 1995-98)
Attendance was announced as 3,242