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Chris Solari did a nice job once again! A great story Chris!
http://www.argusleader.com/sports/Mondayarticle2.shtml
SDSU takes huge step forward with victory
Chris Solari
Argus Leader
published: 9/27/2004
Jacks' win Saturday might be biggest in school history
Glance over South Dakota State's all-time football record and one game stands out. It happened in 1935, and is listed in the media guide right under R.H. "Red" Threlfall's finely-coiffed, black-and-white visage.
South Dakota State College 13, Wisconsin 6.
It was easily the biggest of Threlfall's 17 victories in four years as head football coach and was the school's only win in nine tries against the Big Ten school. It was, debatably, the Jackrabbits' biggest win ever.
Until now, that is.
While no one can erase that 'W' over the Badgers in the pubescent era of college football, there was very little riding on that day in 1935 - especially not the perception and future of the athletic department.
Saturday's 31-24 Jackrabbit victory over well-known Division I-AA power Southern on Saturday in Baton Rouge, La., may someday end up being a blip in a record book, but it also shows that the bold and controversial move to Division I may not be as far-flung as first thought.
"We kind of look at it that every week is a step, especially in our process right now," SDSU coach John Stiegelmeier said Sunday. "We're trying to take positive steps in creating and developing a dominant, solid I-AA program. Some steps are smaller than others, but this was a big, big step for our football program."
Athletic Director Fred Oien listened to the game on the radio back in Brookings. To him, the triumph is a building block toward erasing what he calls an "embarrassing humbleness" that South Dakotans sometimes suffer from.
"People from this region and this state prove themselves over and over again nationally," Oien said. "You don't understand that until you go outside of your boundaries to find that out."
After SDSU was humbled in its I-AA debut on Sept. 4 at California-Davis, more people than not thought scores such as that 52-0 loss would be the norm this year. However, the way Stiegelmeier crafted SDSU's schedule - be it by design or happenstance - put his team in a position for tremendous growth.
Debuting with a conference game, even if UC-Davis is only one year ahead in the move to I-AA, showed just how much the Jackrabbits would need to improve to become competitive in this uncharted Great West Football Conference. Back-to-back Division II contests, against Winona State and Western Oregon, helped resurrect their confidence after Game 1's embarrassment.
All of which set the stage for Saturday's shocker at Southern, the defending Black College national champion which annually plays Grambling in the nationally televised Bayou Classic.
Though things began like a repeat of the UC-Davis debacle, as the Jaguars opened the game with a sizzling four-play scoring drive, SDSU's offense answered with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Brad Nelson to Josh Davis that might have saved the game, if not the team's season, simply because it made the Jacks feel like they belonged in A.W. Mumford Stadium in front of those 16,000-plus fans. The Jacks realized they could hang on the field with an opponent that went 12-1 a year ago.
In the fourth quarter, tight end Greg Peitz broke free in the end zone and caught a 10-yard scoring pass from quarterback Brad Nelson. The seniors stamped their signatures on the historic win, and the defense held the Jaguars over the final four-plus minutes to begin the joyous celebration on the field and in the stands with the fans and parents who made the trip. . . .
As they boarded their charter flight back to South Dakota, the Jackrabbits had to stow away their elation. Coaches lugged portable DVD players and burned discs to break down their next opponent, fellow Great West member Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. Next week had already begun, with meetings and practice to follow on Sunday.
"We're gonna use it in recruiting and use it with our players in terms of reiterating how good a team we are," Stiegelmeier said. "I don't want to make too big a deal out of this, because what does the Cal-Davis loss mean for the football program? This is just one game, but we're moving in the right direction."
Dreamers will say that some day, SDSU will again get a victory over a I-A superpower such as Wisconsin. Doubters scoff at that notion and see nothing but gloom and doom in the move to Division I and I-AA. And seven games still remain on an immensely challenging and ambitious schedule that features a host of Top 25 teams.
For one night though, in the sultry Bayou air, the Jackrabbits could bask in the glow of history.
Reach Chris Solari at 977-3923.
http://www.argusleader.com/sports/Mondayarticle2.shtml
SDSU takes huge step forward with victory
Chris Solari
Argus Leader
published: 9/27/2004
Jacks' win Saturday might be biggest in school history
Glance over South Dakota State's all-time football record and one game stands out. It happened in 1935, and is listed in the media guide right under R.H. "Red" Threlfall's finely-coiffed, black-and-white visage.
South Dakota State College 13, Wisconsin 6.
It was easily the biggest of Threlfall's 17 victories in four years as head football coach and was the school's only win in nine tries against the Big Ten school. It was, debatably, the Jackrabbits' biggest win ever.
Until now, that is.
While no one can erase that 'W' over the Badgers in the pubescent era of college football, there was very little riding on that day in 1935 - especially not the perception and future of the athletic department.
Saturday's 31-24 Jackrabbit victory over well-known Division I-AA power Southern on Saturday in Baton Rouge, La., may someday end up being a blip in a record book, but it also shows that the bold and controversial move to Division I may not be as far-flung as first thought.
"We kind of look at it that every week is a step, especially in our process right now," SDSU coach John Stiegelmeier said Sunday. "We're trying to take positive steps in creating and developing a dominant, solid I-AA program. Some steps are smaller than others, but this was a big, big step for our football program."
Athletic Director Fred Oien listened to the game on the radio back in Brookings. To him, the triumph is a building block toward erasing what he calls an "embarrassing humbleness" that South Dakotans sometimes suffer from.
"People from this region and this state prove themselves over and over again nationally," Oien said. "You don't understand that until you go outside of your boundaries to find that out."
After SDSU was humbled in its I-AA debut on Sept. 4 at California-Davis, more people than not thought scores such as that 52-0 loss would be the norm this year. However, the way Stiegelmeier crafted SDSU's schedule - be it by design or happenstance - put his team in a position for tremendous growth.
Debuting with a conference game, even if UC-Davis is only one year ahead in the move to I-AA, showed just how much the Jackrabbits would need to improve to become competitive in this uncharted Great West Football Conference. Back-to-back Division II contests, against Winona State and Western Oregon, helped resurrect their confidence after Game 1's embarrassment.
All of which set the stage for Saturday's shocker at Southern, the defending Black College national champion which annually plays Grambling in the nationally televised Bayou Classic.
Though things began like a repeat of the UC-Davis debacle, as the Jaguars opened the game with a sizzling four-play scoring drive, SDSU's offense answered with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Brad Nelson to Josh Davis that might have saved the game, if not the team's season, simply because it made the Jacks feel like they belonged in A.W. Mumford Stadium in front of those 16,000-plus fans. The Jacks realized they could hang on the field with an opponent that went 12-1 a year ago.
In the fourth quarter, tight end Greg Peitz broke free in the end zone and caught a 10-yard scoring pass from quarterback Brad Nelson. The seniors stamped their signatures on the historic win, and the defense held the Jaguars over the final four-plus minutes to begin the joyous celebration on the field and in the stands with the fans and parents who made the trip. . . .
As they boarded their charter flight back to South Dakota, the Jackrabbits had to stow away their elation. Coaches lugged portable DVD players and burned discs to break down their next opponent, fellow Great West member Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. Next week had already begun, with meetings and practice to follow on Sunday.
"We're gonna use it in recruiting and use it with our players in terms of reiterating how good a team we are," Stiegelmeier said. "I don't want to make too big a deal out of this, because what does the Cal-Davis loss mean for the football program? This is just one game, but we're moving in the right direction."
Dreamers will say that some day, SDSU will again get a victory over a I-A superpower such as Wisconsin. Doubters scoff at that notion and see nothing but gloom and doom in the move to Division I and I-AA. And seven games still remain on an immensely challenging and ambitious schedule that features a host of Top 25 teams.
For one night though, in the sultry Bayou air, the Jackrabbits could bask in the glow of history.
Reach Chris Solari at 977-3923.
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