South Dakota State vs. South Dakota football rivalry: A look back at the FCS matchups

South Dakota State and South Dakota went eight seasons without playing each other on the gridiron, from 2004-2011, after the Jackrabbits moved up to Division I and the Coyotes, for the moment, stayed in the Division II North Central Conference.

It seemed like a given that USD would eventually join their rivals in FCS (formerly known as Division I-AA) football, and given the near-decade head start, it wasn’t surprising that SDSU dominated the series once that happened. The Jackrabbits won each of the first seven meetings, which, coupled with winning the final three games they played in Division II, gave them 10 straight wins in the series.

Then finally, in 2019, the Coyotes said enough is enough, and a 4-7 USD squad knocked off the playoff-bound Jackrabbits to score their first win over their rivals in the Division I era.

After the 2020 meeting didn’t happen due to the pandemic, they reconvened last year in the DakotaDome, and we all know what happened. The Hail Mary. One of the most memorable, improbable, and, depending on your allegiances, thrilling or painful moments in South Dakota sports history.

It was USD’s second straight win against the Jackrabbits, a streak that SDSU hopes to end Saturday, when they host the Coyotes for the first time since 2018.

Here now is a look at the decade-long history of the state’s Division I football rivalry.

2021: USD 23, SDSU 20, in Vermillion

It was one of the most evenly-matched and competitive struggles in the rivalry’s history, with the Coyotes headed toward the win until the Jacks took control late. Trailing by four in the fourth quarter, the Jacks launched a 13-play, 75-yard drive that ended on a Pierre Strong touchdown run to give them a 20-17 lead. When the Jacks got a fourth down stop and then a first down, it looked like it was over. But they weren’t quite able to completely run out the clock, and rather than punt or run a play on fourth down, they chose to have Chris Oladokun attempt to burn the final seconds by heaving a deep ball high into the air.

After a review, the officials put one second back on the clock, and you know the rest: Carson Camp’s heave toward the end zone was batted in the air and hauled in by Jeremiah Webb with no time on the clock to give the Yotes the shocking victory.

The win propelled the Coyotes into the playoffs, and likely cost SDSU a playoff seed.

2019: USD 24, SDSU 21, in Vermillion

The Coyotes came in as heavy underdogs, knowing their season would end, win or lose, while the Jackrabbits were 8-3 and hoping to solidify playoff positioning. But USD was simply the better team in this game. Though the Jackrabbits outgained USD 498-369 and got 308 passing yards from freshman quarterback Keaton Heide, four turnovers did them in.

Meanwhile South Dakota got a heroic effort from quarterback Austin Simmons, as he threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns in his final game as a Coyote.

2018: SDSU 49, USD 27, in Brookings

Pierre Strong introduced himself to the rivalry by running wild against the Coyotes on a wintry afternoon, rushing for 253 yards on only 17 carries and scoring on touchdowns of 30, 73 and 46 yards.

Behind Strong, an opportunistic defense and a 59-yard touchdown pass from Taryn Christion to Blake Kunz, SDSU jumped out to a 28-7 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Trailing 42-14 in the fourth, USD briefly got back in it with consecutive touchdown passes from Austin Simmons that made it a two-score game at 42-27, but Strong’s final touchdown run of the game ended any thoughts of a comeback.

2017: SDSU 31, USD 28, in Vermillion

For the first time, SDSU and USD were both ranked in the FCS top 25 and on their way to the playoffs entering their rivalry tilt.

In a back-and-forth battle between the two most prolific offenses in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, SDSU took a 17-7 lead on a 69-yard touchdown pass from Taryn Christion to Jake Wieneke, but USD rallied back, going ahead 21-17 on a 10-yard strike from Chris Streveler to Dakarai Allen.

The Jacks, however, built a 10-point lead late on a touchdown pass from Christion to Cade Johnson, and while the Coyotes got back within three on another connection from Streveler to Allen in the final minutes, SDSU recovered an onside kick and ran out the clock.

Senior tight end and future Philadelphia Eagle Dallas Goedert caught 11 passes for 117 yards in his final game against the Coyotes.

2016: SDSU 28, USD 21, in Brookings

The Jacks came in at 6-3, closing in on a playoff berth and conference championship. The Coyotes were 4-5, theoretically holding on to longshot playoff hopes but mostly looking to play spoiler. They almost succeeded.

In the first game of the rivalry to be played at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, the teams were tied at 21 in the fourth quarter when USD's Alex Gray intercepted Taryn Christion and the Coyotes drove into the Jackrabbit red zone with a chance to take the lead. But normally reliable kicker Miles Bergner pushed a 32-yard field goal attempt wide right, and the Jacks responded with 80-yard scoring drive that ended with a 7-yard touchdown run by Christion to provide the winning margin.

2015: SDSU 30, USD 23, in Vermillion

Before this game the Coyotes had yet to even really compete with SDSU in one of their D1 clashes, but USD had spent the better part of 2015 distancing themselves from a dismal 2014 campaign, and took a 20-10 lead into the fourth quarter.

Freshman quarterback Taryn Christion struggled for the Jacks, so coaches John Stiegelmeier and Eric Eidsness called upon veteran Zach Lujan in the fourth quarter, and watched the junior lead the team to a come-from-behind victory.

Lujan directed a quick scoring drive early in the fourth to cut the lead to 20-17, then engineered another one as soon as the Jacks got the ball back, giving them a 24-20 lead.

When Nick Farina added a 41-yard interception return for a touchdown, the Jacks had a 20-0 fourth quarter blitz and went on to secure the win.

2014: SDSU 37, USD 14, in Brookings

At 7-3, a playoff spot was probably secure for SDSU, but a win in the regular season finale would certainly lock it up. This one was never close.

In the last home game of Zach Zenner and Austin Sumner's careers, SDSU scored three first-quarter touchdowns on their way to a 37-0 lead before USD landed a couple of late punches in garbage time.

Sumner threw for a career-high 395 yards and three touchdowns, dropping the Coyotes to 2-10 on the season, which included an 0-8 mark in the Valley.

2013: SDSU 27, USD 12, in Vermillion

A crowd of 10,845 was on hand to witness SDSU's return to the DakotaDome, and the Coyotes put up a fight.

Trailing 13-6 at the half, USD got a 13-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Earl to Terrance Terry in the third quarter, but missed the extra point, allowing the Jacks to maintain a one-point edge.

The Jacks pushed their lead to eight on a 5-yard pass from Sumner to Jason Schneider early in the fourth, and it stayed that way until USD drove into Jacks territory late in the game looking for a game-tying score, when Winston Wright picked off an Earl pass and raced 82 yards for a score to put it away.

2012: SDSU 31, USD 8, in Brookings

The Coyotes were welcomed to Division I by a crowd of 15,278, who watched the Jackrabbits roar to a 21-0 first quarter lead and dominate USD with their defense.

The Jacks led 24-0 heading to the fourth, when USD finally got on the board when Mike Garvey scooped up a blocked punt and took it in for a score. After a two-point conversion made it a two-score game, USD tried an onside kick and failed.

SDSU took advantage of the short field with Zenner taking one in from a yard away to provide the final margin. The All-American running back had 164 yards on 28 carries in the game.

Five greatest games of the Division II era

Singling out five games from the Division II era would be difficult to pull off with any level of accurate perspective, so we settled for recounting what we know of the first game, the last game, and three notable contests in between:

1889: SDSU 6, USD 6, in Sioux Falls

The first game ended in a 6-6 tie in a game played in Sioux Falls. Touchdowns were worth four points back then, with conversions worth two. According to a story written by Chuck Cecil for State magazine, it took two days traveling by horse for the SDSU squad to get to Sioux Falls for the game.

No details aside from the 6-6 final exist, other than it was part of a two-day series of competitions between the two schools in Sioux Falls that included baseball, a track meet, and an oratorical contest. When the series resumed in 1900, USD did not lose its first game to SDSU until 1919.

1924: SDSU 10, USD 3, in Brookings

On the way to a 6-1 record and a North Central Conference championship, the Jackrabbits played in front of a Hobo Day crowd estimated at more than 10,000. It was considered the biggest crowd for a football game in state history at the time.

"Funston" (no first name was given) from USD put the Coyotes up 3-0 with a dropkick in the second quarter but the Jacks answered with a 29-yard field goal from Frank Welch to tie it. Welch then hit Frank Kelley with a 37-yard touchdown pass in the second half to give SDSU the lead and a 10-3 victory. The Jacks' only loss that season was to Michigan State.

1979: SDSU 33, USD 28, in Vermillion

SDSU was amid a fight for its first – and only – Division II playoff berth in its first-ever visit to the DakotaDome. The Jacks took at 33-21 lead with 4:54 to play on a four-yard run from Gary Maffett, but the Coyotes responded with an Emmett Huston TD run with a little more than two minutes remaining.

USD got the ball back with 1:02 to play and were on the Jacks' 25 with 17 seconds left when Brian Hermanson, current Washington High School football coach, intercepted a pass to end USD's threat. It was the first time SDSU had won in Vermillion since 1966.

1986: USD 51, SDSU 39, in Vermillion

USD was on its way to the Division II national championship game that season but needed to beat the Jacks for the second time in 1986 to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot.

Quarterback Scott Jones scored five touchdowns for the Coyotes, including three in the span of seven minutes in the third quarter that broke the game open. SDSU's Jeff Tiefenthaler caught 14 passes for 234 yards, establishing an NCC record with 23 career TD receptions in a 51-39 Coyote win.

2003: SDSU 22, USD 11, in Vermillion

The last Division II game between the teams played at the DakotaDome, was a 22-11 Jackrabbit victory. The Jacks scored 19 seconds into the contest with Brad Nelson hitting Brian Janacek on a slant pattern that went for an 84-yard touchdown.

SDSU led 22-8 at half and limited the USD offense in the second half with the help of Coyote turnovers. Former Detroit Lion Stefan Logan finished with 160 yards rushing for USD.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota State vs. South Dakota football rivalry at a glance