2018 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team

The 2018 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 22nd-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 10–3 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, placing second 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 defeated Duquesne in the second round and Kennesaw State in the quarterfinals before falling to fellow MVFC member and eventual national champion, North Dakota State, in the semifinals. The team played home games on campus at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.

2018 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football
ConferenceMissouri Valley Football Conference
Ranking
STATSNo. 3
FCS CoachesNo. 3
Record10–3 (6–2 MVFC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorEric Eidsness (13th season)
Defensive coordinatorClint Brown (10th season)
Home stadiumDana J. Dykhouse Stadium
Seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 1 North Dakota State $^   8 0     15 0  
No. 3 South Dakota State ^   6 2     10 3  
No. 23 Northern Iowa ^   5 3     7 6  
Indiana State   5 3     7 4  
Western Illinois   4 4     5 6  
Illinois State   3 5     6 5  
Youngstown State   3 5     4 7  
South Dakota   3 5     4 7  
Missouri State   2 6     4 7  
Southern Illinois   1 7     2 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

Preseason

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Award watch lists

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Award Player Position Year
Walter Payton Award[1] Taryn Christion QB SR
Buck Buchanan Award[2] Christian Rozeboom LB JR

Preseason MVFC poll

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The MVFC released their preseason poll on July 29, 2018, with the Jackrabbits predicted to finish in second place.[3]

Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 North Dakota State 390 (39)
2 South Dakota State 270
3 Northern Iowa 258
4 Youngstown State 248
5 Illinois State 248
6 South Dakota 206
7 Western Illinois 163
8 Southern Illinois 139
9 Missouri State 90
10 Indiana State 41

Preseason All-MVFC Teams

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The Jackrabbits placed seven players at eight positions on the preseason all-MVFC teams.[4]

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 17:00 p.m.at Iowa State*No. 3Cancelled[a]
September 86:00 p.m.Montana State*No. 3MidcoW 45–1414,614
September 156:00 p.m.Arkansas–Pine Bluff*No. 3
  • Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
  • Brookings, SD
MidcoW 90–614,526
September 292:30 p.m.at No. 1 North Dakota StateNo. 3ESPN+, MidcoL 17–2118,846
October 66:00 p.m.Indiana StateNo. 3
  • Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
  • Brookings, SD
MidcoW 54–51 OT10,318
October 132:00 p.m.Youngstown State No. 2
  • Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
  • Brookings, SD
MidcoW 36–714,357
October 204:00 p.m.at No. 25 Northern IowaNo. 2ESPN3L 9–2412,013
October 2712:00 p.m.at No. 11 Illinois StateNo. 7ESPN3W 38–2812,144
November 32:00 p.m.Missouri StateNo. 7
  • Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
  • Brookings, SD
MidcoW 59–75,869
November 101:00 p.m.at Southern IllinoisNo. 6ESPN+W 57–384,433
November 172:00 p.m.South DakotaNo. 5
  • Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
  • Brookings, SD (rivalry)
MidcoW 49–278,517
December 12:00 p.m.Duquesne*No. 5
ESPN3W 51–63,042
December 81:00 p.m.at No. 2 Kennesaw State*No. 5
ESPN3W 27–173,262
December 147:00 p.m.at No. 1 North Dakota State*No. 5
  • Fargodome
  • Fargo, ND (NCAA Division I Semifinal)
ESPN2L 21–4418,286
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

[6][7]

  1. ^ Game was cancelled due to inclement weather.[5]

Roster

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2018 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 1 Jacob Brown Jr
QB 2 J'Bore Gibbs Fr
QB 3 Taryn Christion Sr
RB 5 Blair Mulholland So
RB 8 C. J. Wilson Fr
OL 60 Mason McCormick Fr
OL 64 Garret Greenfield Fr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 2 Christian Rozeboom Jr
S 3 Joshua Manchigiah So
S 6 Makiah Slade Sr
LB 7 Seven Wilson So
S 33 Michael Griffin II Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
PK 4 Chase Vinatieri Jr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

Roster

Game summaries

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Montana State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Bobcats 0 0 8 6 14
No. 3 Jackrabbits 7 17 14 7 45

Arkansas–Pine Bluff

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1 2 3 4 Total
Golden Lions 6 0 0 0 6
No. 3 Jackrabbits 28 21 21 20 90

At North Dakota State

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 3 Jackrabbits 7 0 10 0 17
No. 1 Bison 0 14 0 7 21

Indiana State

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1 2 3 4OT Total
Sycamores 10 7 7 243 51
No. 3 Jackrabbits 7 14 21 66 54

Youngstown State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Penguins 7 0 0 0 7
No. 2 Jackrabbits 9 7 7 13 36

At Northern Iowa

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 2 Jackrabbits 3 0 0 6 9
No. 25 Panthers 0 7 7 10 24

At Illinois State

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 7 Jackrabbits 7 21 7 3 38
No. 11 Redbirds 7 0 0 21 28

Missouri State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 7 0 0 7
No. 7 Jackrabbits 7 31 7 14 59

At Southern Illinois

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 6 Jackrabbits 10 20 20 7 57
Salukis 3 14 21 0 38

South Dakota

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1 2 3 4 Total
Coyotes 7 0 7 13 27
No. 5 Jackrabbits 28 7 7 7 49

FCS Playoffs

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Duquesne–Second Round

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1 2 3 4 Total
Dukes 0 0 6 0 6
No. 5 Jackrabbits 7 17 20 7 51

At Kennesaw State–Quarterfinals

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 5 Jackrabbits 3 14 3 7 27
No. 2 Owls 3 0 0 14 17

At North Dakota State–Semifinals

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 5 Jackrabbits 7 0 14 0 21
No. 1 Bison 7 7 21 9 44

Ranking movements

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below
Week
PollPre123456789101112Final
STATS FCS33333322776553
Coaches333334–T52876553

Players drafted into the NFL

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Round Pick Player Position NFL Club
7 223 Jordan Brown CB Cincinnati Bengals

References

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  1. ^ "FCS football: 2018 Walter Payton Award watch list". August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  2. ^ "FCS football: 2018 Buck Buchanan Award watch list announced". August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  3. ^ "North Dakota State Picked to Win 2018 MVFC Title".
  4. ^ "Preseason All-Conf and Team (PDF) - Missouri Valley Football Conference" (PDF).
  5. ^ "Jackrabbits, Cyclones Cancelled". South Dakota State Athletics. September 1, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  6. ^ "South Dakota State Jackrabbits Schedule 2018". ESPN. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  7. ^ "2018 Football Schedule". South Dakota State University Athletics. Retrieved January 17, 2024.