The 2020 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 24th-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 8–2 with a mark of 5–1 in conference play, sharing the MVFC title with Missouri State. South Dakota State received the MVFC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where the Jackrabbits defeated Holy Cross in the first round, fellow MVFC member Southern Illinois in the quarterfinals, and Delaware in the semifinals before losing to Sam Houston State in the NCAA Division I Championship Game. The team played home games on campus at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.
| 2020 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football | |
|---|---|
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MVFC co-champion | |
NCAA Division I Championship Game, L 21–23 vs. Sam Houston State | |
| Conference | Missouri Valley Football Conference |
| Ranking | |
| STATS | No. 2 |
| FCS Coaches | No. 2 |
| Record | 8–2 (5–1 MVFC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Jason Eck (2nd season) |
| Co-defensive coordinator | Brian Bergstrom (2nd season) |
| Co-defensive coordinator | Jimmy Rogers (2nd season) |
| Home stadium | Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2 South Dakota State +^ | 5 | – | 1 | 8 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 12 Missouri State +^ | 5 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 7 North Dakota ^ | 4 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 6 North Dakota State ^ | 5 | – | 2 | 7 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 14 Southern Illinois ^ | 3 | – | 3 | 6 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Iowa | 3 | – | 4 | 3 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Dakota | 1 | – | 3 | 1 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois State† | 1 | – | 3 | 1 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Illinois† | 1 | – | 5 | 1 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youngstown State | 1 | – | 6 | 1 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preseason
editOn May 27, 2020 HERO Sports ranked the Jackrabbits 2nd in their Top 25 poll for the 2020 season. This is SDSU's highest ranking in a preseason poll.
Schedule
editSouth Dakota State had games scheduled against Butler, Nebraska, and Tarleton State, which were later canceled before the start of the 2020 season.[1][2][3]
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 19 | 7:00 p.m. | at No. 3 Northern Iowa | No. 5 | ESPN+ | W 24–20 | 2,137 | |||
| February 27 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 14 North Dakota | No. 3 | ESPN+ | L 17–28 | 3,638 | |||
| March 6 | 2:00 p.m. | Western Illinois | No. 8 | ESPN+ | W 45–10 | 2,347 | |||
| March 13 | 2:00 p.m. | Youngstown State | No. 8 |
| ESPN+ | W 19–17 | 2,653 | ||
| March 20 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 5 Southern Illinois | No. 6 | ESPN+ | W 44–3 | 2,400 | |||
| March 27 | 2:00 p.m. | Illinois State | No. 4 |
| ESPN+ | Canceled[a] | |||
| April 10 | 2:00 p.m. | South Dakota | No. 4 |
| ESPN+ | Canceled | |||
| April 17 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 2 North Dakota State | No. 4 | ESPN+ | W 27–17 | 8,762 | |||
| April 24 | 3:00 p.m. | Holy Cross | No. 2 |
| ESPN3 | W 31–3 | 2,996 | ||
| May 2 | 8:00 p.m. | No. 14 Southern Illinois | No. 2 |
| ESPN2 | W 31–26 | 2,998 | ||
| May 8 | 11:00 a.m. | No. 5 Delaware | No. 2 |
| ESPN | W 33–3 | 3,547 | ||
| May 16 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 4 Sam Houston State | No. 2 |
| ABC | L 21–23 | 7,840 | ||
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- ^ On March 21, 2021, Illinois State announced that it would opt-out of the remainder of the 2021 spring season due to safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
References
edit- ^ Myerberg, Paul. "Big Ten football reduces season schedule to only conference games, maybe setting stage for others to follow". USA TODAY. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
- ^ Kelley, Kevin (July 27, 2020). "Pioneer Football League to play conference-only football schedule in 2020". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- ^ "Tarleton State Postpones Football Season Until Spring". NBC DFW. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
- ^ "South Dakota State Jackrabbits Schedule 2020". ESPN. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
- ^ "2020-21 Football Schedule". South Dakota State University Athletics. Retrieved January 17, 2024.