Story by
The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
SDSU football: Jacks fall flat in road loss to North Dakota
- Story byThe Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
- SDSU football: Jacks fall flat in road loss to North Dakota
Oct. 17—GRAND FORKS, N.D. — South Dakota State's stay atop the FCS rankings will last but one week.
The No. 1 Jackrabbits (5-2, 2-1) suffered their first FCS defeat of the season on Saturday, looking listless and slow in a 21-10 loss to No. 11 North Dakota at the Alerus Center.
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It was UND's first win over the No. 1 ranked team in FCS in six tries, and while the Fighting Hawks certainly earned it by outplaying the Jackrabbits in all three phases of the game, SDSU looked nothing like the team that surged to the top of the nation with dominant play all over the field.
After an ugly first half in which the Jacks dug themselves a 21-3 hole SDSU tried to get back in it after the break. And while they were better in the second half they still weren't as good as the Hawks (6-2, 3-1).
A 63-yard touchdown run by James Basinger on the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter cut the lead to 21-10, and SDSU was back in business later that quarter with the ball at the UND 21. But a personal foul penalty pushed them out of field goal range and left the Jacks two scores down heading to the fourth.
They got the ball back with 3:36 to go but stalled out near the red zone, and Tristan Alvano's 46-yard field goal attempt to keep the pulse beating went wide right.
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Chase Mason went 14-of-33 for 169 yards in his return from a two-game absence, though he was hounded by numerous dropped passes. Basinger rushed for 101 yards, while Josiah Johnson was held to 54 yards on 17 carries.
It was a brutal start for the Jacks, as they simply didn't look motivated or ready to play.
After the teams traded punts UND got on the board on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Jerry Kaminski to Cam Weir, then pushed it to 14-0 on a 49-yard touchdown run from Charles Langama.
Meanwhile the SDSU offense couldn't get anything going, as dropped passes and consistent pressure from the UND front seven were costly.
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When Kaminski found Deng Deng for a 12-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-0 and the Jacks followed with an immediate 3-and-out, it looked like the rout was officially on.
SDSU got a break when UND fumbled in their own territory, however, and the Jacks turned it into a 30-yard Alvano field goal.
That made it 21-3 at the break. It was a terrible half for the visitors, but they'd at least given themselves hope for a second-half comeback.
