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SDSU's home-field advantage
Chris Solari
csolari@argusleader.com
Published: 08/24/05
• COACH: John Stiegelmeier (ninth year, 48-38)
• 2004 RECORD: 6-5 (2-3 in Great West).
• RETURNING STARTERS: 6 offense/8 defense.
• STRENGTH: Running back
• WEAKNESS: Experience at quarterback
• KEY RETURNERS: RB Anthony Watson (jr., 5-10, 221), WR Josh Davis (sr., 6-0, 174), QB Andy Kardoes (jr., 6-3, 210), OL Paul Keizer (sr., 6-4, 291), OL Kasey Deaver (jr., 6-3, 307), DT D.J. Fischer (sr., 6-3, 278), CB Hank McCall (sr., 5-11, 186).
Ready to embark on their second season in Division I-AA, South Dakota State's players trotted onto Howard Wood Field last Friday for practice.
The Jackrabbits' purpose: Get used to their home away from home in advance of an Oct. 8 game against Cal-Davis in Sioux Falls.
Of course, the team should be good at that - they certainly had enough away games last year to get used to unfamiliar environments.
This season is a different story with seven games at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium, plus the eighth home game at Howard Wood.
"Seven at Coughlin - what a treat," SDSU head coach John Stiegelmeier said. "From the '04 season (and) opening up the atlas to see where the heck we were going, to sleeping in our own beds and eating our own food and walking out in front of our own fans ... the expectations should be better this year."
But expectations are tough this fall for the Jackrabbits. Five of the Jacks' opponents are ranked in the preseason I-AA Top 25, making it even more difficult to avoid a sophomore slide.
"(Last year) was stressful, but at the same time, we didn't really know what to expect," senior cornerback Hank McCall said. "But we got our feet wet, and I think we did pretty well."
SDSU, 6-5 a year ago in its I-AA debut, has been picked fourth by the media and fifth by the coaches in the preseason Great West Conference polls. Still, the players' expectations are rising, demanding nothing short of a league title.
"I don't know how many teams ever have a goal for third place, how many teams have a goal to finish last or to win a game," said junior Anthony Watson, an all-conference running back last year. "If you're down that low, you probably shouldn't even be in the game."
There are some major hurdles the Jackrabbits must clear to improve this season - a new quarterback, injuries on defense. But foremost is a grueling schedule that features No. 3 Montana, No. 6 Georgia Southern, No. 17 Cal Poly, No. 22 North Dakota State and No. 23 Texas State. They open at home with Division III power Wisconsin-LaCrosse on Sept. 3.
Three of those games against ranked teams - Montana, NDSU and Texas State - make up SDSU's only road games.
The offense hopes to jell quickly under junior Andy Kardoes, the new starting quarterback. The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder finished second on the team last year with three rushing touchdowns, while completing 13 of 33 passes for 191 yards in spot duty behind record-setting signal caller Brad Nelson.
"What you're going to see from Kardoes, I think, is a lot more competitiveness, a warrior mentality," senior receiver Josh Davis said.
SDSU's home-field advantage
Chris Solari
csolari@argusleader.com
Published: 08/24/05
• COACH: John Stiegelmeier (ninth year, 48-38)
• 2004 RECORD: 6-5 (2-3 in Great West).
• RETURNING STARTERS: 6 offense/8 defense.
• STRENGTH: Running back
• WEAKNESS: Experience at quarterback
• KEY RETURNERS: RB Anthony Watson (jr., 5-10, 221), WR Josh Davis (sr., 6-0, 174), QB Andy Kardoes (jr., 6-3, 210), OL Paul Keizer (sr., 6-4, 291), OL Kasey Deaver (jr., 6-3, 307), DT D.J. Fischer (sr., 6-3, 278), CB Hank McCall (sr., 5-11, 186).
Ready to embark on their second season in Division I-AA, South Dakota State's players trotted onto Howard Wood Field last Friday for practice.
The Jackrabbits' purpose: Get used to their home away from home in advance of an Oct. 8 game against Cal-Davis in Sioux Falls.
Of course, the team should be good at that - they certainly had enough away games last year to get used to unfamiliar environments.
This season is a different story with seven games at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium, plus the eighth home game at Howard Wood.
"Seven at Coughlin - what a treat," SDSU head coach John Stiegelmeier said. "From the '04 season (and) opening up the atlas to see where the heck we were going, to sleeping in our own beds and eating our own food and walking out in front of our own fans ... the expectations should be better this year."
But expectations are tough this fall for the Jackrabbits. Five of the Jacks' opponents are ranked in the preseason I-AA Top 25, making it even more difficult to avoid a sophomore slide.
"(Last year) was stressful, but at the same time, we didn't really know what to expect," senior cornerback Hank McCall said. "But we got our feet wet, and I think we did pretty well."
SDSU, 6-5 a year ago in its I-AA debut, has been picked fourth by the media and fifth by the coaches in the preseason Great West Conference polls. Still, the players' expectations are rising, demanding nothing short of a league title.
"I don't know how many teams ever have a goal for third place, how many teams have a goal to finish last or to win a game," said junior Anthony Watson, an all-conference running back last year. "If you're down that low, you probably shouldn't even be in the game."
There are some major hurdles the Jackrabbits must clear to improve this season - a new quarterback, injuries on defense. But foremost is a grueling schedule that features No. 3 Montana, No. 6 Georgia Southern, No. 17 Cal Poly, No. 22 North Dakota State and No. 23 Texas State. They open at home with Division III power Wisconsin-LaCrosse on Sept. 3.
Three of those games against ranked teams - Montana, NDSU and Texas State - make up SDSU's only road games.
The offense hopes to jell quickly under junior Andy Kardoes, the new starting quarterback. The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder finished second on the team last year with three rushing touchdowns, while completing 13 of 33 passes for 191 yards in spot duty behind record-setting signal caller Brad Nelson.
"What you're going to see from Kardoes, I think, is a lot more competitiveness, a warrior mentality," senior receiver Josh Davis said.
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