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Area college capsules
Article Published: 10/29/05
Georgia Southern (5-3) at South Dakota State (4-3)
WHEN/WHERE: 1 p.m. today, Coughlin-Alumni Stadium in Brookings
RADIO: WNAX-AM 570
COACHES: SDSU: John Stiegelmeier (ninth year, 52-41); Ga. Southern: Mike Sewak (fourth year, 32-13).
RANKINGS: Georgia Southern is ranked 19th in this week's Sports Network Division I-AA poll. SDSU is unranked.
SERIES: The Eagles lead the series 1-0, having defeated SDSU 63-7 a year ago in Statesboro, Ga.
LAST WEEK: The Jackrabbits set school records for rushing yards (567) and total offense (689) in a 64-28 Hobo Day victory over Division II Missouri-Rolla. Georgia Southern defeated The Citadel 49-14 in the Eagles' homecoming game, their fourth win in their last five games.
ABOUT SDSU: QB Andy Kardoes is expected to sit out after injuring his ankle against Missouri-Rolla, with Stiegelmeier calling him "very questionable." The junior now has both ankles hurting, despite not missing a start while nursing a high ankle sprain most of the season.
"This is the slimmest chance of him playing that we've had all year long," Stiegelmeier said.
That anoints redshirt freshman Ryan Berry from Watertown as the starter this week. The 6-foot-2, 184-pound QB was 8-for-14 for 77 yards against Missouri-Rolla, throwing SDSU's first touchdown pass since Sept. 10, and also rushed for 44 yards on seven carries.
In four appearances this year, Berry has completed 10-of-18 passes for 107 yards and two TDs. Sophomore Reed Burckhardt, who also may see time, is 8-of-13 for 105 yards and two scores in four games.
But Stiegelmeier would like it if Berry could duplicate what he did best against Rolla - hand the ball off to the RBs and let the linemen explode some holes for them. Three Jackrabbits ran for more than 100 yards last week, with starter Cory Koenig (184 yards, two TDs) breaking the plateau for the fourth straight game. Anthony Watson also ran for 117 yards and two scores, while Trevor Hohn finished up with 161 yards on just six carries that included an exhilarating 64-yard TD.
For the year, Koenig averages 106.3 of SDSU's 249.6 yards rushing per game. Watson averages 76 yards.
The Jacks allow 336.4 total yards a game, but only 19.1 points per opponent.
The real test will be on the defensive side for the Jackrabbit front seven. So far this season, SDSU allows its opponents just 121.4 yards a game on the ground, but it hasn't faced as quick and diverse a running attack as Georgia Southern's option game. So much so that Jackrabbit coaches have been hoping for snow and cold weather for a year to slow down the Eagles.
"We'll play them in any weather," said LB Billy Ray Kirch, who is second with 44 tackles. "We're going to scheme them up and get the guys in the right position."
ABOUT Georgia Southern: Talk tradition in I-AA, and you're going to mention the Eagles immediately. They have six I-AA national championships, been to the playoffs seven of the last eight years and have been ranked in 122 of the last 125 weekly I-AA polls.
"Georgia Southern is the premier I-AA football program in America," Stiegelmeier said.
Last year, SDSU found that the tradition is well-deserved. The Eagles scored five times in the first half, riding their option game to 461 yards rushing.
"The dam broke," Stiegelmeier said. "What simply happened is we quit doing our jobs. We started guessing. If you want a guess against a team like that - not only the option but that level of option - it gets ugly. And it got ugly."
This year, Georgia Southern is rushing for 363.5 yards a game and has two players nearing 1,000 yards - Walter Payton Award candidate FB Jermaine Austin (993 yards) and QB Jayson Foster (913).
Foster, who has 13 TDs this season, is coming off a career-best 123-yard passing performance against The Citadel.
Austin ran for 115 yards on 16 carries a year ago against SDSU. Foster, who played WR last season as a freshman, saw plenty of action as well. He threw a 54-yard TD from his wide-out spot, caught a 64-yard pass, then took over under center late in the game and rushed for a fourth-quarter score.
The Eagles allow 187.8 rushing yards and 166.9 passing yards a game.
"We got the lesson out of the way last year of what a great program is like, with what they can do, the level of competition and the caliber of athlete," Stiegelmeier said. "We're ready for that. We've got a different mentality now."
- Chris Solari
Area college capsules
Article Published: 10/29/05
Georgia Southern (5-3) at South Dakota State (4-3)
WHEN/WHERE: 1 p.m. today, Coughlin-Alumni Stadium in Brookings
RADIO: WNAX-AM 570
COACHES: SDSU: John Stiegelmeier (ninth year, 52-41); Ga. Southern: Mike Sewak (fourth year, 32-13).
RANKINGS: Georgia Southern is ranked 19th in this week's Sports Network Division I-AA poll. SDSU is unranked.
SERIES: The Eagles lead the series 1-0, having defeated SDSU 63-7 a year ago in Statesboro, Ga.
LAST WEEK: The Jackrabbits set school records for rushing yards (567) and total offense (689) in a 64-28 Hobo Day victory over Division II Missouri-Rolla. Georgia Southern defeated The Citadel 49-14 in the Eagles' homecoming game, their fourth win in their last five games.
ABOUT SDSU: QB Andy Kardoes is expected to sit out after injuring his ankle against Missouri-Rolla, with Stiegelmeier calling him "very questionable." The junior now has both ankles hurting, despite not missing a start while nursing a high ankle sprain most of the season.
"This is the slimmest chance of him playing that we've had all year long," Stiegelmeier said.
That anoints redshirt freshman Ryan Berry from Watertown as the starter this week. The 6-foot-2, 184-pound QB was 8-for-14 for 77 yards against Missouri-Rolla, throwing SDSU's first touchdown pass since Sept. 10, and also rushed for 44 yards on seven carries.
In four appearances this year, Berry has completed 10-of-18 passes for 107 yards and two TDs. Sophomore Reed Burckhardt, who also may see time, is 8-of-13 for 105 yards and two scores in four games.
But Stiegelmeier would like it if Berry could duplicate what he did best against Rolla - hand the ball off to the RBs and let the linemen explode some holes for them. Three Jackrabbits ran for more than 100 yards last week, with starter Cory Koenig (184 yards, two TDs) breaking the plateau for the fourth straight game. Anthony Watson also ran for 117 yards and two scores, while Trevor Hohn finished up with 161 yards on just six carries that included an exhilarating 64-yard TD.
For the year, Koenig averages 106.3 of SDSU's 249.6 yards rushing per game. Watson averages 76 yards.
The Jacks allow 336.4 total yards a game, but only 19.1 points per opponent.
The real test will be on the defensive side for the Jackrabbit front seven. So far this season, SDSU allows its opponents just 121.4 yards a game on the ground, but it hasn't faced as quick and diverse a running attack as Georgia Southern's option game. So much so that Jackrabbit coaches have been hoping for snow and cold weather for a year to slow down the Eagles.
"We'll play them in any weather," said LB Billy Ray Kirch, who is second with 44 tackles. "We're going to scheme them up and get the guys in the right position."
ABOUT Georgia Southern: Talk tradition in I-AA, and you're going to mention the Eagles immediately. They have six I-AA national championships, been to the playoffs seven of the last eight years and have been ranked in 122 of the last 125 weekly I-AA polls.
"Georgia Southern is the premier I-AA football program in America," Stiegelmeier said.
Last year, SDSU found that the tradition is well-deserved. The Eagles scored five times in the first half, riding their option game to 461 yards rushing.
"The dam broke," Stiegelmeier said. "What simply happened is we quit doing our jobs. We started guessing. If you want a guess against a team like that - not only the option but that level of option - it gets ugly. And it got ugly."
This year, Georgia Southern is rushing for 363.5 yards a game and has two players nearing 1,000 yards - Walter Payton Award candidate FB Jermaine Austin (993 yards) and QB Jayson Foster (913).
Foster, who has 13 TDs this season, is coming off a career-best 123-yard passing performance against The Citadel.
Austin ran for 115 yards on 16 carries a year ago against SDSU. Foster, who played WR last season as a freshman, saw plenty of action as well. He threw a 54-yard TD from his wide-out spot, caught a 64-yard pass, then took over under center late in the game and rushed for a fourth-quarter score.
The Eagles allow 187.8 rushing yards and 166.9 passing yards a game.
"We got the lesson out of the way last year of what a great program is like, with what they can do, the level of competition and the caliber of athlete," Stiegelmeier said. "We're ready for that. We've got a different mentality now."
- Chris Solari