By Andrew Holtan
The Brookings Beacon
BROOKINGS – South Dakota State ran for over 400 yards on Saturday night and picked up a 42-7 victory over Eastern Illinois at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
No. 2 ranked SDSU (4-1) had four rushing touchdowns that went for 48 yards or longer in the second half and scored five times total on the ground. Josiah Johnson led the way with 121 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries and James Basinger had 116 yards and two scores on nine carries. Corey Blair Jr. had 80 yards and a score on six carries.
Last week, the Jackrabbits ran for over 300 yards and Johnson was the only player that had over 100. SDSU head coach Dan Jackson said earlier in the week that he wanted to see more from the other running backs and his wish came true on Saturday night.
“This is what I thought needed to happen and can happen,”Jackson said. “Josiah is a great player and he ran very well again tonight. But I just don’t believe when you’re a team that wants to be physical and run the ball 40, 50, 60 times a game, that it can be one person.
“I’ve loved how James Basinger has grown and developed. It’s been fun to see when he’s gotten opportunities. He runs like a man that wants more carries and touches and when you do that, you get rewarded in our program. … I thought [Blair] ran hard when he was in there. … I’m proud of the running back room and their development.”
The Jacks had been averaging 276 yards on the ground per game and that average now sits at 311 after the 408-yard output on Saturday night. Jackson said the running backs and offensive line did a good job of listening to the coaches at halftime and that led to the long touchdowns in the second half.
“There were some things [at halftime] that we just saw with their alignments on defense and we made some slight adjustments, and that’s what probably led to the bigger gains. Definitely, the guys came out [in the second half] and said enough is enough, and I knew we were going to get back to playing our football, and then it was obvious once we got rolling,” Jackson said.
The Jackrabbits got off to a fast start as they scored in six plays on their first drive. Backup quarterback Josh Holst, who started the game because Chase Mason is dealing with a knee injury, went 3-for-3 on the opening drive and Johnson capped it off with an 18-yard touchdown drive.
The two teams combined for three-straight three-and-outs and then SDSU worked its way into EIU territory again. However, this time the Jacks were stopped on fourth down.
The Panthers faced a fourth and four on their own 37 on the first play of the second quarter and they faked a punt for a 10-yard gain. That fake punt jumpstarted a drive and EIU tied the game with a nine-yard run from quarterback Cole LaCrue.
SDSU answered immediately with a touchdown drive. James Basinger took a handoff and ran to the right side. No one was there for the Panthers and he went 39 yards to the house, making it 14-7 with eight and half minutes to go in the first half.
The Jacks then faced another fourth down in EIU territory and this time it was at EIU 39. They failed to convert again as Holst’s pass to Jack Smith fell incomplete.
SDSU had an opportunity to add to its lead with 47 seconds left. Tristan Alvano came on for a 41-yard field goal attempt and it hit off the left upright and was no good so the score remained 14-7 going into halftime.
The Jackrabbit defense stopped the Panthers on fourth and one near midfield on the first drive of the second half. On the next play, Basinger ran 48 yards to the end zone and the Jacks went up 21-7 three minutes into the second half.
SDSU forced a punt and struck quickly again on its next drive. This time, Corey Blair Jr. got in on the long runs and he ran 61 yards for a touchdown and that made it 28-7 with 10:31 to go in the third.
The Jacks needed one more running back to have a long touchdown run and Johnson got it done as he broke off a 55-yard run on fourth and one and extended the lead to 42-7 with 1:30 to go in the third.
Holst got in on the scoring in the fourth quarter as he found a wide open Ben Brooks in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown to make it 42-7 with 10:33 left in the game. Neither team scored the rest of the way.
Holst finished 11-of-22 for 176 yards in his first start at SDSU. He said he has to play better, especially if Mason is going to miss more than one game.
“It was alright. I mean, a slow start in the first half. We have to be better. I have to be better for sure. I mean, 50% completion percentage, have to be better on that too. I’m still getting the timing down with these receivers, but just have to be better in the first half,” Holst said.
Holst was 3-of-6 on passes that traveled 15 yards or more in the air. A couple of those misses would have been long touchdowns. Jackson said Holst needs to do a better job of giving his receivers a chance on throws down the field.
“On the whole, he needs to play better,” Jackson said. “We need to give our receivers shots at these passes. We’re getting one-on-one coverage, and we’re running by people, we just need to put it somewhere where we have a shot. So, that’s going to be something we need to emphasize: the timing of those throws, and it’s not about being perfect on those throws. Put it where our guys can go get it.”
SDSU’s defense held EIU to 196 yards, including 73 on the ground. Jes Krcil led the Jacks with 12 total tackles, one tackle for a loss and a pass breakup.
The Jacks forced two fumbles on Saturday night. True freshman defensive tackle and Brookings native Bergan Tetzlaff recovered one of them after Flandreau native Maverick LeBrun forced it on a sack.
This comes a week after Tetzlaff had a tipped pass that led to an interception against Youngstown State. He also had the first sack of his career on Saturday night and said the work he put in during the summer is paying off and it’s fun to make plays in your hometown.
“It feels good [to make an impact]. I mean, just growing up here, being able to contribute [means a lot]. But I’m only here because the older guys in the summer took me in and started teaching me stuff,” Tetzlaff said.
Up next, the Jackrabbits will play at Illinois State. It was supposed to be a top-three showdown, but the Redbirds did not hold up their end of the bargain as they lost to Northern Iowa on Saturday.
