2009 SEASON RECAP passes, returning one for a touchdown, and Kyle Minett rushed for a season-high 164 yards with two touchdowns as the Jackrabbits continued their recent mastery of the rival Bison with a 2813 victory, claiming the Dakota Marker for the third consecutive year. The Jackrabbits’ playoff hopes peaked in the Oct. 24 Hobo Day matchup against perennial postseason qualifier Northern Iowa. Trailing 7-6 at the half, SDSU gained the lead early in the third quarter on a 63-yard strike from O’Brien to Glen Fox — the team’s longest passing play of the season. Kyle Harris gave the Jackrabbits the lead for good on a 49-yard field goal late in the third quarter and SDSU sealed the 24-14 victory over the sixth-ranked Panthers in the fourth quarter with an 11-play, 93-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 1-yard pass from O’Brien to Colin Cochart. SDSU continued its winning ways the next week, defeating Youngstown State, 17-3, in a defensive battle that saw Crawford return to the starting lineup at quarterback. The Jackrabbit victory in Ohio set up a Nov. 6 showdown at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium the following week between the lone remaining undefeated teams in the league — third-ranked Southern Illinois and ninth-ranked SDSU. The Jackrabbits could not recover from a number of uncharacteristic mistakes as SIU built a 27-3 halftime lead. Although SDSU outscored SIU in the second half, the Salukis coasted to a 34-15 victory and the outright lead in the MVFC. The Jackrabbits stepped out of conference play the next week for their lone Football Bowl Subdivision game of the season, at Minnesota. Neither team scored an offensive touchdown in the contest, which was decided by a late field goal after an SDSU turnover that propelled Minnesota to a 16-13 victory in Minneapolis. Derek Domino returned an interception 22 yards for the Jackrabbits’ lone touchdown, one that gave them a momentary 10-6 lead in the second quarter. Despite the loss, SDSU surrendered only 231 yards of total offense — the second-lowest total of the season. SDSU ended its two-game losing streak and secured a playoff berth on the final day of the regular season with a 27-7 victory at Western Illinois. Co-MVFC Defensive Player of the Year and Buck Buchanan Award finalist Danny Batten led the Jackrabbit defensive effort with three sacks. The Jackrabbits drew perennial national championship contender and No. 1 overall seed Montana in the first round of the FCS Playoffs on Nov. 28 in Missoula, Mont. SDSU was the dominant team through the first three quarters, scoring the first 17 points of the game and leading 34-14 at halftime. The Jackrabbit lead
grew to 41-14 early in the third quarter as Ross Shafrath blocked a punt and Corey Jeske fell on the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. Montana put together a furious comeback, scoring 40 unanswered points against an SDSU defense that entered the game ranked fifth among FCS teams for scoring defense. Although the season ended with a 61-48 defeat at the hands of the eventual national runner-up Grizzlies, SDSU was rewarded with an 11th-place showing in the final polls of the season conducted by the FCS Coaches and Sports Network. Batten headlined the postseason award recipients as he was named to All-America teams by the Walter Camp Football Foundation (first team), Sports Network (first team) and Associated Press (second team). Minett also was named to the Associated Press FCS All-America Team, earning third-team recognition. In addition, head coach John Stiegelmeier was named one of five finalists for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award. Stiegelmeier also was a finalist for the award in 2007. SDSU’s on-field success translated into record attendance for the second time in three years. The Jackrabbits drew more than 10,000 fans to each of their five home games, finishing with an average home attendance of 13,265 to rank 17th among FCS programs. The attendance total marked an increase of more than 3,300 fans per game from the 2008 season and 2,000 more than the previous record of 11,218 fans per game in 2007.
JACKRABBITS IN THE 2009 NCAA STATISTICS
TEAM • 4th in pass efficiency defense, 99.55 • 14th in rushing defense, 104.33 yards/game • 16th in scoring defense, 17.42 points/game • 17th in total defense, 289.50 yards/game • 22nd in kickoff returns, 22.45 yards/attempt • 25th in sacks, 2.42 sacks/game • 28th in net punting, 34.80 yards/attempt • 33rd in scoring offense, 27.75 points/game • 38th in turnover margin, +.33 per game INDIVIDUAL Danny Batten • 15th in tackles for loss, 1.42 TFL/game • T-17th in sacks, .75 sacks/game Derek Domino • T-35th in interceptions, .42 INT/game Glen Fox • 48th in receptions/game, 5.17 Conrad Kjerstad • T-35th in interceptions, .42 INT/game Kyle Minett • 5th in rushing, 108.67 yards/game • 13th in scoring, 8.50 points/game • 34th in all-purpose yards, 120.58 yards/game Saunders Montague • 27th in punt returns, 8.19 yards/attempt Dean Priddy • 17th in punting, 41.17 yards/attempt Peter Reifenrath • T-24th in scoring, 7.64 points/game • T-46th in field goals, 1.45 field goals/game
Thomas O’Brien (4) started six games during his redshirt freshman season in 2009. A member of the MVFC All-Newcomer Team, O’Brien threw for 1,448 yards and 11 touchdowns. Center Ryan McKnight (60) also returns to the lineup after earning first-team all-MVFC recognition last year.
2010 JACKRABBIT FOOTBALL MEDIA GUIDE
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