SDSU overcomes slow start to blowout Illinois State, clinch program's first outright MVFC title

Nov. 13—BROOKINGS — South Dakota State shook off a rough start Saturday.

After digging themselves an early hole, the Jackrabbits scored the game's final 31 points, toppling Illinois State 31-7 and securing the outright Missouri Valley Football Conference title in the process.

"When I went to the guys in the huddle said, 'We ain't sharing it,'" said coach John Stiegelmeier of winning the conference title. "In the Missouri Valley, to win all your games ... is a huge deal."

The game couldn't have started much worse for the Jackrabbits, who went punt, interception, punt on their first three possessions, with the latter punt getting blocked and recovered by Illinois State in the end zone for the first score of the game.

The Jacks put up just 32 yards of total offense in the first frame and minus-2 rushing yards. But SDSU's defense kept it in the game, even with the offense sputtering.

"There's always room for improvement, of course," said SDSU linebacker Jason Freeman, who finished with a team-high seven tackles. "But zero points on (the defense's) end is a win for us."

The SDSU defense limited Illinois State to 100 total yards on the game, intercepting a pass, coming up with two sacks, not allowing the Redbirds into the red zone and limiting them to 2-for-12 on third downs.

After a Hunter Dustman field goal got SDSU on the board in the second, the floodgates opened, led by quarterback Mark Gronowski.

"Mark played like Mark," Stiegelmeier said of his quarterback, who finished the day with 283 yards through the air. "Mark's a good football player and he can impact the game in a big way."

Gronowski found his way into the endzone from 6 yards out to give the Jacks a lead they didn't surrender with just over three minutes left in the first half before Dustman tacked on his second field goal of the day as time expired in the half.

After the first quarter, the Jacks not only outscored the Redbirds 31-0, but they outgained Illinois State 399-73 in the final 45 minutes, accruing 19 first downs to Illinois State's six.

Isaiah Davis led the rushing attack for SDSU, toting the ball 16 times 50 yards and a score, while Jadon Janke paced the receiving room with 129 yards on five receptions. Zach Heins was the recipient of a fourth-quarter touchdown from Gronowski, his lone passing score of the afternoon.

For Illinois State, Tommy Rittenhouse went 9-of-20 for 55 yards without a score and an interception but added a team-high 18 rushing yards on nine carries.

The Jacks end their regular season at 10-1, riding a 10-game winning streak with an undefeated mark in Football Championship Subdivision play. Likely to clinch a top-two seed in the FCS playoffs, SDSU's next contest would come Dec. 3 at home, leaving a 20-day gap between games.

"We're going to take it day by day," Janke said of the long layoff. "(We are going to) use these two weeks to get better, get healthy and hit the ground rolling in a couple of weeks."