# 2024 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team

The 2024 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University during the 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season, as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They were led by second-year head coach Jimmy Rogers and played their home games at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.

## Preseason
### MVFC poll

The MVFC released it preseason prediction poll on July 22, 2024. The Jackrabbits were predicted to win the conference.
MVFC media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | South Dakota State | 482 (42) |
| 2 | North Dakota State | 437 (1) |
| 3 | South Dakota | 371 |
| 4 | Southern Illinois | 293 |
| 5 | North Dakota | 276 |
| 6 | Illinois State | 264 |
| 7 | Youngtown State | 255 |
| 8 | Northern Iowa | 227 |
| 9 | Missouri State | 164 (1) |
| 10 | Indiana State | 68 |
| 11 | Murray State | 67 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 1:00 p.m. | at No. 17 (FBS) Oklahoma State* | No. 1 | Boone Pickens StadiumStillwater, OK | ESPN+ | L 20–44 | 52,202 |
| September 7 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 12 Incarnate Word* | No. 1 | Dana J. Dykhouse StadiumBrookings, SD | MidcoSN/ESPN+ | W 45–24 | 19,321 |
| September 14 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 14 (Div. II) Augustana (SD)* | No. 1 | Dana J. Dykhouse StadiumBrookings, SD | MidcoSN/ESPN+ | W 24–3 | 19,376 |
| September 21 | 6:00 p.m. | at Southeastern Louisiana* | No. 1 | Strawberry StadiumHammond, LA | ESPN+ | W 41–0 | 4,387 |
| October 5 | 4:00 p.m. | at Northern Iowa | No. 1 | UNI-DomeCedar Falls, IA | | W 41–3 | 12,611 |
| October 12 | 2:00 p.m. | Youngstown State | No. 1 | Dana J. Dykhouse StadiumBrookings, SD | MidcoSN/ESPN+ | W 63–13 | 19,331 |
| October 19 | 7:00 p.m. | at No. 2 North Dakota State | No. 1 | FargodomeFargo, ND (Dakota Marker) | ESPN2 | L 9–13 | 18,807 |
| October 26 | 6:30 p.m. | No. 4 South Dakota | No. 3 | Dana J. Dykhouse StadiumBrookings, SD (rivalry) | ESPNU | W 20–17 $^{OT}$ | 19,351 |
| November 2 | 2:00 p.m. | Murray State | No. 3 | Dana J. Dykhouse StadiumBrookings, SD | | W 52–6 | 16,376 |
| November 9 | 1:00 p.m. | at No. 21 North Dakota | No. 3 | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND | | W 38–7 | 9,797 |
| November 16 | 2:00 p.m. | Southern Illinois | No. 3 | Dana J. Dykhouse StadiumBrookings, SD | | W 41–10 | 17,268 |
| November 23 | 2:00 p.m. | at Missouri State | No. 3 | Robert W. Plaster StadiumSpringfield, MO | ESPN+ | W 45–9 | 7,142 |
| December 7 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 13 Montana* | No. 3 | Dana J. Dykhouse StadiumBrookings, SD (NCAA Division I Second Round) | ESPN+ | W 35–18 | 10,376 |
| December 14 | 11:00 a.m. | No. 6 Incarnate Word* | No. 2 | Dana J. Dykhouse StadiumBrookings, SD (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal) | ESPN | W 55–14 | 8,640 |
| December 21 | 11:00 a.m. | at No. 3 North Dakota State* | No. 2 | FargodomeFargo, ND (NCAA Division I Semifinal) | ABC | L 21–28 | 17,849 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central timeSource: ||||||||

## Game summaries
### at No. 17 (FBS) Oklahoma State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 1 Jackrabbits | 0 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
| • No. 17 (FBS) Cowboys | 10 | 7 | 21 | 6 | 44 |
| Statistics | SDSU | OSU |
| First downs | 17 | 23 |
| Total yards | 388 | 394 |
| Rushing yards | 124 | 149 |
| Passing yards | 264 | 245 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 30:47 | 29:13 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| South Dakota State | Passing | Mark Gronowski | 20/36, 264 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| South Dakota State | Rushing | Amar Johnson | 9 carries, 73 yards |
| South Dakota State | Receiving | Griffin Wilde | 7 receptions, 150 yards, TD |
| Oklahoma State | Passing | Alan Bowman | 24/33, 245 yards, 2 TD |
| Oklahoma State | Rushing | Ollie Gordon II | 28 carries, 126 yards, 3 TD |
| Oklahoma State | Receiving | De'Zhaun Stribling | 6 receptions, 83 yards |

### No. 12 Incarnate Word

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 12 Cardinals | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| • No. 1 Jackrabbits | 0 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 45 |
| Statistics | UIW | SDSU |
| First downs | 20 | 31 |
| Total yards | 419 | 515 |
| Rushing yards | 68 | 230 |
| Passing yards | 351 | 285 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 24:43 | 35:17 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Incarnate Word | Passing | Zach Calzada | 31/39, 351 yards, 3 TD |
| Incarnate Word | Rushing | Zach Calzada | 7 carries, 43 yards |
| Incarnate Word | Receiving | Jalen Walthall | 7 receptions, 137 yards, 2 TD |
| South Dakota State | Passing | Mark Gronowski | 21/32, 285 yards, 4 TD, INT |
| South Dakota State | Rushing | Amar Johnson | 19 carries, 112 yards, 2 TD |
| South Dakota State | Receiving | Griffin Wilde | 10 receptions, 106 yards, 2 TD |

### Augustana (South Dakota)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vikings | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| • No. 1 Jackrabbits | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| Statistics | AUG | SDSU |
| First downs | 12 | 22 |
| Total yards | 171 | 374 |
| Rushing yards | 24 | 233 |
| Passing yards | 147 | 141 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 28:16 | 31:44 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Augustana | Passing | Evan Bearth | 8/17, 92 yards |
| Augustana | Rushing | Rashad Lampkin | 6 carries, 26 yards |
| Augustana | Receiving | Isaiah Huber | 5 receptions, 53 yards |
| South Dakota State | Passing | Mark Gronowski | 19/27, 142 yards, 2 INT |
| South Dakota State | Rushing | Amar Johnson | 17 carries, 126 yards, 1 TD |
| South Dakota State | Receiving | Griffen Wilde | 6 receptions, 47 yards |

### at Southeastern Louisiana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 1 Jackrabbits | 7 | 13 | 14 | 7 | 41 |
| Lions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Statistics | SDSU | SLU |
| First downs | 18 | 13 |
| Total yards | 417 | 186 |
| Rushing yards | 341 | 94 |
| Passing yards | 76 | 92 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 25:52 | 34:08 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| South Dakota State | Passing | Mark Gronowski | 7/17, 65 yards, 1 INT |
| South Dakota State | Rushing | Kirby Vorhees | 5 carries, 179 yards, 3 TD |
| South Dakota State | Receiving | Amar Johnson | 3 receptions, 37 yards |
| Southeastern Louisiana | Passing | Damon Sewart | 9/20, 91 yards, 2 INT |
| Southeastern Louisiana | Rushing | Antonio Martin, Jr. | 14 carries, 36 yards |
| Southeastern Louisiana | Receiving | Darius Lewis | 5 receptions, 56 yards |

### at Northern Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 1 Jackrabbits | 7 | 20 | 14 | 0 | 41 |
| Panthers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| South Dakota State | Passing |
| South Dakota State | Rushing |
| South Dakota State | Receiving |
| Northern Iowa | Passing |
| Northern Iowa | Rushing |
| Northern Iowa | Receiving |

### Youngstown State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Penguins | 3 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| • No. 1 Jackrabbits | 21 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 63 |
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Youngstown State | Passing |
| Youngstown State | Rushing |
| Youngstown State | Receiving |
| South Dakota State | Passing |
| South Dakota State | Rushing |
| South Dakota State | Receiving |

### at No. 2 North Dakota State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 1 Jackrabbits | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| • No. 2 Bison | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| South Dakota State | Passing |
| South Dakota State | Rushing |
| South Dakota State | Receiving |
| North Dakota State | Passing |
| North Dakota State | Rushing |
| North Dakota State | Receiving |

### No. 4 South Dakota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| No. 4 Coyotes | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
| • No. 3 Jackrabbits | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 20 |
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| South Dakota | Passing |
| South Dakota | Rushing |
| South Dakota | Receiving |
| South Dakota State | Passing |
| South Dakota State | Rushing |
| South Dakota State | Receiving |

### Murray State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Racers | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| • No. 3 Jackrabbits | 14 | 24 | 14 | 0 | 52 |
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Murray State | Passing |
| Murray State | Rushing |
| Murray State | Receiving |
| South Dakota State | Passing |
| South Dakota State | Rushing |
| South Dakota State | Receiving |

### at No. 21 North Dakota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 3 Jackrabbits | 3 | 28 | 7 | 0 | 38 |
| No. 21 Fighting Hawks | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| South Dakota State | Passing |
| South Dakota State | Rushing |
| South Dakota State | Receiving |
| North Dakota | Passing |
| North Dakota | Rushing |
| North Dakota | Receiving |

### Southern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Salukis | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| • No. 3 Jackrabbits | 3 | 28 | 10 | 0 | 41 |
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Southern Illinois | Passing |
| Southern Illinois | Rushing |
| Southern Illinois | Receiving |
| South Dakota State | Passing |
| South Dakota State | Rushing |
| South Dakota State | Receiving |

### at Missouri State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 3 Jackrabbits | 7 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 45 |
| Bears | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| South Dakota State | Passing |
| South Dakota State | Rushing |
| South Dakota State | Receiving |
| Missouri State | Passing |
| Missouri State | Rushing |
| Missouri State | Receiving |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Final |
| STATS FCS | 1 (52) | 1 (36) | 1 (44) | 1 (41) | 1 (40) | 1 (38) | 1 (36) | 1 (38) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 (1) | 3 |
| Coaches | 1 (25) | 1 (17) | 1 (22) | 1 (22) | 1 (22) | 1 (21) | 1 (21) | 1 (21) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 (2) | 3 |