2021 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football
ConferenceMissouri Valley Football Conference
Ranking
STATSNo. 4
FCS CoachesNo. 5
Record11–4 (5–3 MVFC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJason Eck (3rd season)
Co-defensive coordinatorBrian Bergstrom (3rd season)
Co-defensive coordinatorJimmy Rogers (3rd season)
MVPPierre Strong Jr.
Home stadiumDana J. Dykhouse Stadium
Seasons
← 2020
2022 →
2021 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 1 North Dakota State $^   7 – 1     14 – 1  
No. 14 Missouri State ^   6 – 2     8 – 4  
No. 16 Southern Illinois ^   5 – 3     8 – 5  
No. 18 South Dakota ^   5 – 3     7 – 5  
No. 4 South Dakota State ^   5 – 3     11 – 4  
No. 23 Northern Iowa ^   4 – 4     6 – 6  
Indiana State   3 – 5     5 – 6  
North Dakota   3 – 5     5 – 6  
Western Illinois   2 – 6     2 – 9  
Illinois State   2 – 6     4 – 7  
Youngstown State   2 – 6     3 – 7  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2021 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 25th-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 11–4 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for third in the MVFC. South Dakota State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where the Jackrabbits defeated UC Davis in the first round, Sacramento State in the second round, and Villanova in the quarterfinals before losing to Montana State in the semifinals. The team played home games on campus at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.

After the season, offensive coordinator Jason Eck was hired as the head football coach at the University of Idaho.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 38:00 p.m.at Colorado State*No. 3
FS1W 42–2332,327
September 116:00 p.m.Lindenwood*No. 2
ESPN3W 52–715,162
September 2512:00 p.m.at Indiana StateNo. 2
ESPN+W 44–06,652
October 26:00 p.m.Dixie State*No. 2
  • Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
  • Brookings, SD
ESPN+/MidcoW 55–714,427
October 92:00 p.m. No. 8 Southern IllinoisNo. 2
  • Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
  • Brookings, SD
ESPN+/MidcoL 41–42 OT12,216
October 1612:00 p.m.at Western IllinoisNo. 7
ESPN+W 41–172,827
October 232:00 p.m. No. 20 Northern IowaNo. 6
  • Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
  • Brookings, SD
ESPN3L 17–2616,889
October 301:00 p.m.at Youngstown StateNo. 10
ESPN+W 47–169,423
November 62:00 p.m.No. 2 North Dakota StateNo. 9
ABC ND/ESPN+/MidcoW 27–19 18,122
November 132:00 p.m.at No. 19 South DakotaNo. 4
ESPN+/MidcoL 20–239,068
November 202:00 p.m.North DakotaNo. 12
  • Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
  • Brookings, SD
ESPN+/MidcoW 24–218,132
November 272:00 p.m.No. 14 UC Davis*No. 11
ESPN+W 56–243,681
December 48:00 p.m.at No. 8 Sacramento State*No. 11
ESPN+W 24–1910,031
December 111:00 p.m.at No. 6 Villanova*No. 11
ESPN+W 35–213,401
December 181:00 p.m.at No. 7 Montana State*No. 11
ESPN2L 17–3120,457

[1][2]

Roster

2021 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 6 Chris Oladokun Sr
RB 20 Pierre Strong Jr. Sr
FB/TE 34 Michael Morgan Jr
TE 85 Tucker Kraft So
OL 60 Mason McCormick Jr
OL 74 Garret Greenfield Jr
WR 10 Jaxon Janke Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 12 Logan Backhaus Sr
LB 32 Adam Bock So
DE 22 Tolu Ogunrinde Sr
DE 48 Quinton Hicks Jr
DE 50 Noah Jessup Fr
DE 53 Caden Johnson So
DE 54 Chandler Carter Fr
DE 56 Levi Vanden Bos Fr
DE 90 Randy Keumogne So
DE 92 Kevin Brenner So
DE 93 Max Baloun  Fr
DE 94 Cade Terveer Jr
DE 95 Zac Wilson So
DE 96 Mitch Eichacker  Fr
DE 97 Reece Winkelman Sr
DT 52 Jarod DePriest So
DT 55 Thomas Stacker Sr
DT 65 Matthew Borowicz Jr
DT 69 Krockett Krolikowski Sr
DT 73 Coby Maeschen Fr
DT 77 Aaron Wolfcale-Holsten Fr
DT 88 Brandon Lane Jr.  Fr
DT 91 Xavier Ward Sr
DT 98 Ryan Van Marel Jr
DT 99 Caleb Sanders Sr
CB 1 Malik Lofton Sr
CB 5 DyShawn Gales Jr
CB 7 Dalys Beanum So
CB 13 Christopher Rhodes Fr
CB 15 Timothy Croskey Fr
CB 17 Abe Hoskins III  Fr
CB 20 Myles Taylor Fr
CB 21 Don Gardner Sr
CB 26 Steven Arrell  Fr
CB 39 Aydan Dautermann Fr
S 6 Michael Griffin II Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
PK 97 Cole Frahm Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

Ranking movements

Main article: 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112Final
STATS FCS3 (4)2 (11)2 (9)2 (8)2 (10)2 (15)76109412114
Coaches4 (1)3 (3)3 (2)3 (1)3 (1)3 (1)871312713115

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2022 NFL Draft
Round Pick Player Position NFL Club
4 127 Pierre Strong Jr. RB New England Patriots
7 241 Chris Oladokun QB Pittsburgh Steelers

References

  1. ^ "South Dakota State Jackrabbits Schedule 2021". ESPN. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  2. ^ "2021 Football Schedule". South Dakota State University Athletics. Retrieved January 17, 2024.


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