Solid overview of South Dakota State
- Thread starter ChrisMWilliams
- Start date
Great read! They seem to be pretty good again this year ranked #3 in fcs. Is there a ranking system that includes both fcs and fbs? I read somewhere that South Dakota State would have finished ranked in the 60’s last year overall. That is a bowl quality team if so.
If we are sloppy and commit turnovers, this will be a tough game. I doubt SDSU will beat themselves. Hoping our improved DL will wreak havoc, and OL take control and give a good balance between Montgomery and shots downfield.
Good article; it reads that they seem to have a winning Swag mentality. Combined with a senior QB and good running backs; we'll need our D-line to have a good game. No turnovers on O...Keep in mind they lost their Bowl Game to James Madison - big time; and that was with some good senior talent.
"....
their run of six straight playoff appearances has clearly earned them national respect. SDSU opens the season ranked 3rd in the Top 25 poll. Last year they began the season ranked 6th.
The Jacks return the most prolific quarterback they’ve ever had in senior Taryn Christion, a stable of talented running backs, and a defense that added former Iowa Hawkeye safety Brandon Snyder to a unit ....."
"....
their run of six straight playoff appearances has clearly earned them national respect. SDSU opens the season ranked 3rd in the Top 25 poll. Last year they began the season ranked 6th.
The Jacks return the most prolific quarterback they’ve ever had in senior Taryn Christion, a stable of talented running backs, and a defense that added former Iowa Hawkeye safety Brandon Snyder to a unit ....."
I don't think the game will be that close. If they had more returning players on offense I would think differently but my guess is that is just too many new guys on offense for an FCS team against a good FBS team especially considering they have a lot of inexperience on the oline. On D, they return more guys and add Snyder so I can see their defense being improved from last year but not to the level it needs to be if trying to keep the game close against ISU.
My prediction is ISU 34, SDSU 6.
My prediction is ISU 34, SDSU 6.
Sagarin rankings: https://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaaf/sagarin/
Ranks all teams in FBS and FCS. Currently Iowa State is 59 and SDSU is 66 and predicts the Cyclones as 4 point favorites, but it's currently based off last year's data. Get more accurate as we get 4 or so games into the season.
They'll be good, but I don't think they'll be that good. I would say ISU will end the year better than 59 as well.
I have faith in Campbell and the team to take care of business, but I’ve seen a lot of this. I think you guys are in for a rude awakening if you think we’re going to blow them out.
I predict it will be a little too close for comfort throughout the first half. Then we put them away late. Thinking. 31-17 or something like that. Most likely a scenario where the final score isn’t an indication of how the game went.
I’d love to be wrong and see a blowout, but I’m just snake bitten by plenty of first games that we’ve looked rusty in.
There is no such thing as a sure 'tune up' game historically for Iowa State.
I do think we saw last year what good fundamentals do for a program so hopefully good things come with it to start out this year.
ISU should have an advantage in the trenches & at the skill positions.
No reason to not win this game by a few scores, even though SDSU is a tough team.
No reason to not win this game by a few scores, even though SDSU is a tough team.
You would be shocked. What most people forget to mention is that SDSU went up against JMU in the semis and committed 10 turnovers. Obviously, 10 turnovers is an outrageous number but they were playing against a very sound and disciplined defense. I have watched SDSU a few times since I am a USD alum. This quarterback reminds me of a poor mans Kenny Hill. If ISUs dline can create some pressure, it will be a long night for the rabbits.
Just once it would be nice to have an FCS team on the schedule that isn't a top ten national title contender. It would be a refreshing change of pace if the pessimistic fans were expecting the starters to play most of the third quarter while the optimists were expecting the 1st string to spend the 2nd half in sweats and eating hot dogs.
Seriously though, is there a reason we keep scheduling tougher fcs foes? I really don't see much benefit in doing this.
Its fcs. If we can't handle them easily which I think we will then our program hasn't moved to far in the right direction.
That's good to know. What were their turnover and penalty numbers BEFORE the semis game?
I did some digging and found that they had 15 interceptions and 11 lost fumbles. So before the game, they were at 9 and 7. Not bad for the season. They also averaged about 45 yards a game. The only strong defense they face that season, prior to JMU, was NDSU and they had 1 fumble and 3 interceptions. After paying attention to the Missouri Valley for a the last few years, I have noticed it changing to a Big 12 style conference (fast pace offense and bend don’t break defense). ISU will feel comfortable playing SDSU, because they follow that fast pace offensive style. Don’t get me wrong, SDSU won’t be a slouch of a team, but we should be worried with Heacock’s defense.
I bet we'll have more fans at the game than them. That's all I am willing to bet.
These games are scheduled like 6-8 years in advance. Good luck predicting who will be good/bad 6 years from now. SDSU sucked when we scheduled them. Same thing with NDSU.
Had a son that was a student at SDSU several years ago. We took in most home games over a 3 year period. SDSU plays sound football. Good strong OL. Good running backs. Decent QB and decent WR and TEs.. Defense plays "in position" and plays containment football. The analogy that I would make is that this is like a Baylor - Iowa State game from about 5 years ago. You knew going into the game that Baylor had more speed. Could you contain their speedy running backs and wide receivers. Maybe yes, maybe no. Similar situation here (IMO).
NDSU has been good for over 10 years, Definitely do not want to schedule them as a pushover game, as it doesn't look like they will be having a downturn any time soon.
