.png&width=42&height=42&type=webp)
University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Preseason Primer: South Dakota St.
8/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
GopherSports.com will provide Minnesota Football fans with a primer on the Gophers’ four non-conference opponents as we ramp up toward the beginning of the season. Our final Preseason Primer installment will be a look at the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, who will visit TCF Bank Stadium on Nov. 14.
Jackrabbit Jottings:
| The South Dakota State File | |
| Head Coach | John Stiegelmeier |
| Coach's Record/Seasons | 75-56/12 |
| 2008 Record | 7-5/6-2 |
| Home/Away/Neutral | 4-2/3-3/0-0 |
| Starters Returning/Lost | 16/8 |
| Letterwinners Ret./Lost | 42/13 |
South Dakota State was 7-5 last season, competing in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-AA). Last season, the Jackrabbits joined the Missouri Valley Football Conference and put together a 6-2 record in league play. The Jackrabbits played a Football Bowl Subdivision last season for the first time under coach John Stiegelmeier, a 44-17 loss at Iowa State.
Series History: 
This year's game will be the sixth in the series between Minnesota and South Dakota State. However, it will be the first meeting in more than 70 years. The Gophers are 5-0 against the Jackrabbits. The following is a look at each score in the history of the series:
1916 - Minnesota 41, S.D. State 7 - Minneapolis
1917 - Minnesota 64, S.D. State 0 - Minneapolis
1930 - Minnesota 48, S.D. State 0 - Minneapolis
1932 - Minnesota 12, S.D. State 0 - Minneapolis
1933 - Minnesota 19, S.D. State 6 - Minneapolis
South Dakota State Overview: 
| 2008 SDSU Statistics/Rankings | |||
| | Stat | NCAA FCS | MVFC |
| Scor. Off. | 35.6 | 9 | 1 |
| Tot. Off | 405.3 | 18 | 1 |
| Rush Off. | 137.6 | 64 | 7 |
| Pass Off. | 267.7 | 15 | 1 |
| Scor. Def. | 29.0 | 81 | 5 |
| Tot. Def. | 344.9 | 55 | 5 |
| Rush Def. | 132.4 | 40 | 4 |
| Pass Def. | 212.5 | 77 | 9 |
The Jackrabbits were 7-5 overall and 6-2 in Missouri Valley Football Conference play in 2008. Under head coach John Stiegelmeier, who is now in his 13th season, the Jackrabbits are 75-56. Stiegelmeier has led South Dakota State through its transition from NCAA Division II to NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-AA).
Stiegelmeier's Jacks will have 16 starters returning from last year’s squad, which finished third in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and lost only to league co-champs Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois. South Dakota State has seven starters returning on offense and six on defense. South Dakota State also returns both its punter and kicker in 2009. The Jackrabbits are ranked No. 23 in the Preseason FCS Coaches Poll.
South Dakota State was chosen to finish third in the Missouri Valley Football Conference in the league's annual preseason poll. The Jacks were picked behind defending co-champions Southern Illinois and Northern Iowa. Rounding out the MVFC Preseason Poll were Western Illinois, Youngstown State, Missouri State, Illinois State and Indiana State.
South Dakota State faces Georgia Southern and Cal Poly in its two other non-conference contests.
Cal Offensive Player to Watch: Running Back Kyle Minett
Kyle Minett is a contender for the Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2009. He was named a preseason all-conference selection in a vote of the league's coaches, sports information directors and media.
Minett needs just 260 yards to crack South Dakota State's top 10 in career rushing and he's just a junior. Minett rushed for 1,289 yards as a sophomore last season, averaging 107.4 yards per game and scoring 18 touchdowns.
Cal Defensive Player to Watch: Defensive Lineman Danny Batten
Batten stepped into the starting lineup as a true freshman in 2006 and has started 33 of the Jackrabbits’ 34 games his first three seasons. He has earned honorable mention All-America recognition each of the past two seasons while earning first-team all-Great West Football Conference honors in 2007 and first-team all-Missouri Valley Football Conference accolades in 2008.
Batten ranked fourth on the team with 75 total tackles in 2008 and led the team with eight sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss, putting his career totals at 14 sacks and 35.5 tackles for loss.
Other Key South Dakota State Players:
LB Jimmy Rogers; WR Glen Fox; PK Peter Reifenrath.
Game Implications: 
For Minnesota, it will be Senior Day for more than 20 Gopher seniors and they will want to put a positive exclamation point on their final season at the U. In addition, it will be the final home game of the 2009 season and the Gophers' last chance to protect their new house - TCF Bank Stadium. With a big rivalry game against Iowa the next week, Minnesota will want to build and maintain momentum going to Iowa City to battle for Floyd of Rosedale. For South Dakota State, this would be an opportunity to make a name for themselves among the FCS elite if they could pull off the upset.
-UM-
