By Andrew Holtan
The Brookings Beacon
South Dakota State came up short against an FBS opponent once again on Saturday night as the Jackrabbits lost to Northwestern 34-18.
It was a game where it felt like SDSU outplayed the Wildcats, but red zone woes kept points off the board for the Jacks. That was one of my three takeaways from Saturday’s game, but the other two are positive for SDSU.
Red Zone Offense
The Jacks finished the night 5-of-7 in the red zone, but only scoring 18 points with seven trips inside the 20 isn’t going to get you the win.
All four of Tristan Alvano’s field goals came in the red zone.
On SDSU’s first trip to the red zone, the Jacks got backed up after a 12-man on the field penalty. The replay from the Big Ten Network telecast counted that there were only 11 Jackrabbits on the field, but it moved SDSU back five yards. That penalty proved to be costly as Chase Mason missed Corey Blair Jr. on the next play and Blair could have walked into the end zone. Mason was then stopped short on a third down run and Alvano knocked through a 21-yard field goal to make it 7-3.
The Jacks were then inside the 20 with under three minutes left in the first half but an illegal man downfield penalty backed them up again and Alvano had to kick a 32-yard field goal.
SDSU was given great field position on its first possession of the second half after a 10-yard punt from Northwestern. The Jacks started at the Wildcat 26 yard line and worked their way inside the 20 again as they picked up a first down. However, three straight run plays after that gained six yards and Alvano made a 27-yard attempt.
The Jacks finally went for it on a fourth down on their next trip to the red zone and Josiah Johnson picked it up on fourth and one. But SDSU failed to find the end zone again as there were three-straight incompletions. One of them was a drop from Grahm Goering, which was a bit of a theme for the Jacks on Saturday night as they had a lot of drops. Alvano came on and made a 26-yard field goal to make it 17-12.
A few penalties moved the Jacks to the Northwestern one yard line and Johnson finally found the end zone for SDSU on its next drive. The Jacks would then go for two as they were trailing 20-18 in the fourth quarter. Mason pitched the ball to Jack Smith and he threw it to the end zone, but the ball bounced off Goering’s hands again and SDSU was still behind.
After giving up a touchdown, the Jackrabbits needed points on their next drive. They moved the ball into the red zone again but were forced to settle for a field goal attempt for a fifth time. This time SDSU faced a third and 10 from the Northwestern 20 and Mason threw it to the end zone, but it bounced off of Smith’s hands. Then Alvano missed his first field goal of the night, which was a 38-yard attempt.
SDSU head coach Dan Jackson released his frustrations with the red zone struggles in a radio interview after the game. He said the Jacks needed to impose their will in the run game more.
“I thought we had opportunities to really punch some things into [the end zone] when we were in the red zone and we didn’t do it. … It’s completely unacceptable. We need to be able to line up and run the ball. I don’t care if they’re in the Big Ten. We need to be able to line up and run the ball, and we can. We just didn’t execute when we were down there,” Jackson said.
Jackson reflected on the trips to the red zone in his weekly press conference on Tuesday after he watched the film.
“We just missed a couple throws, missed a couple catches, and then there were a couple times when we ran it that we missed a block. There were a couple untimely penalties as well. … There were a couple mistakes from the staff, a couple mistakes by the players, and we have to make our layups when we have them as well,” Jackson said.
Physicality
SDSU matched Northwestern’s physicality for most of the game. Whether it was up front with their offensive and defensive lineman, or their linebackers and receivers, the Jacks were physical.
The Jacks had 147 yards rushing and averaged 3.7 yards per carry. Northwestern gave up 160.2 yards per game on the ground last season, so the Jacks were not far off when it came to going toe to toe with the rest of the Big Ten.
Total yards in the game was 497-432 in favor of the Wildcats, but it would have been about even had Northwestern not have broken off an 80-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Griffin Wilde also had a 71-yard catch on Northwestern’s first offensive play from scrimmage.
I know that every play matters in a football game, but if you take out those two plays, SDSU outplayed Northwestern on Saturday. It was just a matter of execution at times.
The physicality that SDSU played with against the Wildcats should give the Jackrabbits an advantage against the rest of the teams on their schedule. Jackson has preached about being a more physical football team and he said on Tuesday that Saturday’s game was exactly what he wanted to see.
“When I watched the film, I was really proud of our offensive line,” Jackson said. “The mean, nasty finishing blocks and the toughness of our offensive line is back. … I thought the offensive line was imposing their will, and I thought the defensive line did the same thing. … I loved their physicality and how they controlled the line of scrimmage for the most part. I saw some linebackers launching at their offensive linemen.
“There were a lot of clips where you could say, ‘wow, that was violent. That was physical.’ And a majority of it was our guys versus their players. Now, we just need to continue to harness that and make sure everyone is doing their job all the time, and it’s going to be really, really special.”
Special Teams
Despite the missed field goal late in the fourth quarter, I thought it was another impressive showing from the Jackrabbit special teams. Especially when you pair it with the fact that the Wildcats averaged 24 yards per punt.
It was Alvano’s first time kicking field goals for the Jackrabbits and the operation seemed to be good on all of his tries. Max Pelham had another great game with an average of 39.7 yards per punt and he put one inside the 20. Ryan Harrington had four of his six kickoffs result in touchbacks and the Wildcats had their drive starts on average at the 24 yard line after kickoffs.
ackson said the special teams as a whole had a pretty good game and they continue to show signs that they will have success throughout the season.
“I thought Ryan Harrington did a good job with the kickoffs, with the hangtime and placement,” Jackson said. “And then the physicality of our kickoff team was impressive when you watched it back. … I thought our punt execution was solid. There could be some things improved coverage wise that [Northwestern] didn’t take advantage of.
“Alvano and the field goal team continues to be a strength. I understand that the kick at the end is tough because it essentially ended the game. But for the most part, I think he’s been really consistent and confident. So there’s a lot of really good highlights to point out on special teams.”
Up Next
SDSU will return home this upcoming Saturday and take on New Haven at 6 p.m. This is the Chargers second year in the FCS and they will be 1-1 entering the game against SDSU. New Haven beat Marist 22-21 in its season opener and then lost 21-3 to Stonehill this past weekend. You can watch the game on KELOLAND, Midco Sports or ESPN+.
