Patience Jacks Fans, It’s Not Always Going To Be Easy, SDSU’s Win Over Incarnate Word Was Wobbly But Massive

BROOKINGS — Jackrabbit fans, I have to be honest with you: you might be a bit spoiled.

On Saturday night at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, South Dakota State defeated Incarnate Word 45-24 in front of a sellout crowd of 19,321. However, the atmosphere felt somewhat subdued for a home-opening celebration.

The evening started with the SDSU mascot, Jack, posing with the national championship trophies from 2022 and 2023. But if the 12th-ranked Cardinals were expected to roll over and hand the Jackrabbits an easy win, nobody informed them otherwise.

Although the Jacks emerged victorious, they didn’t dominate. They didn’t score first, allowed significant plays, and made several mistakes. They only led by seven at halftime and gave up a game-tying score early in the third quarter. The stadium was quiet, and the fans glued to their phones for real-time commentary and critiques were clearly dissatisfied with what they were witnessing.

All of this is understandable. Prior to last week’s 44-20 loss to Big 12 powerhouse Oklahoma State, the Jackrabbits had been on a 29-game winning streak, claiming two consecutive FCS national championships. Last season, they faced little challenge, even against the best teams during the playoffs. The defeat against Oklahoma State was one thing, but now that SDSU was back to facing “regular” FCS teams, many expected them to easily return to their winning ways.

However, that didn’t happen immediately. But by the time the Jacks extended their lead to a comfortable margin, it became clear that this was a significant and impressive victory.

The Cardinals entered the game ranked 12th nationally. They had 10 wins in 2021, reached the FCS semifinals with 12 wins in 2022, and had an 8-2 record last year. Their current roster is filled with FBS transfers who, if integrated well, can elevate a team into a contender.

If Saturday night was any indication, the Cardinals are indeed a contender.

“That was a really good football team,” Coach Jimmy Rogers acknowledged. “They made a lot of big plays against us. They have elite offensive skills. We have to give them credit.”

UIW certainly posed challenges for SDSU.

Quarterback Zach Calzada went 31-for-39 passing for 351 yards and three touchdowns, along with 43 rushing yards. He showcased impressive throws, ran aggressively, and took hits without opting to slide.

Normally, stats like these might frustrate Coach Rogers, but Calzada is not your typical FCS quarterback; he started 10 games for Texas A&M in 2021. His receivers, Roy Alexander (nine catches for 128 yards) and Jalen Walthall (seven catches for 137 yards), displayed skills that were comparable to the SDSU receivers from last week’s game.

“That quarterback is elite,” Rogers remarked. “Completing 31-of-39 against our defense is something I can’t recall anyone doing during my time here. He’s a winner with exceptional talent around him, and we occasionally missed tackles or fell short during 1-on-1 jump ball situations.”

On the other hand, the Incarnate Word defense was not as strong as its offense and struggled to contain what has quickly emerged as the Jackrabbit offense’s new trio: quarterback Mark Gronowski, running back Amar Johnson, and wide receiver Griffin Wilde.

The Jacks started off a bit sluggish, possibly carrying over some issues from last week, but they managed to execute three scoring drives in the first half (potentially four if a field goal hadn’t been missed). In the second half, they really stepped up their game.

Gronowski completed 21 of 32 passes for 285 yards and threw four touchdown passes. He targeted sophomore receiver Wilde from Sioux Falls 10 times, resulting in 10 catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns.

Johnson rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, even without any runs longer than 13 yards. While the team would like to see bigger plays from their running back, averaging six yards per carry without a run over 15 yards demonstrates impressive consistency. The Jacks did not punt and racked up a total of 515 yards of offense.

“This team is completely different from last year,” Gronowski stated. “Things might not come as easily as they did last season, but they might. We could improve and surpass last year’s team. But this is our current squad, and I’m really excited to see what these guys can achieve.”

Next week, the Jackrabbits will host Augustana, their long-time rivals from the North Central Conference, who wisely chose to remain in Division II over twenty years ago when SDSU moved up. It promises to be an exciting week, and the Jackrabbits should secure a comfortable win.

Following that, they’ll travel to Southeastern Louisiana for another interesting FCS matchup. After that, conference play will kick off.

If SDSU arrives in Cedar Falls on October 5 with a 3-1 record, that would be a success.

This season is going to be tougher than last year, Jacks fans. Embrace the challenges and enjoy the journey!