8 things to know about South Dakota State
Sep. 27—GRAND FORKS — UND begins Missouri Valley Football Conference play at No. 1 South Dakota State on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Brookings in a sold-out Dykhouse Stadium.
Here's a look at what you need to know about the defending national champion Jackrabbits.
UND's offense could be facing a South Dakota State defense receiving a boost one of its best players returning to the lineup for the first time this year.
Adam Bock, a 6-foot-1, 225-pound senior linebacker, is nearing return from an injury, according to Sioux Falls Live writer and South Dakota State beat reporter Matt Zimmer.
Bock, a two-time captain, is a two-time all-Missouri Valley Football Conference first team choice. He was a HERO Sports All-American and Buck Buchanan Award finalist in 2021.
Bock was injured in Grand Forks last season and didn't return until the FCS quarterfinals. He had eight tackles in a semifinal win over Montana State including 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack. He followed that with six assisted tackles in a championship game victory over North Dakota State.
The bye week last week for both UND and South Dakota State might've come at a nice time for the Jackrabbits.
Not only does SDSU expect Bock to return on defense but wide receiver Jadon Janke may be ready to play, as well.
Twin brother Jaxon Janke leads the Jacks with 13 catches for 154 yards. Jadon is credited with one catch for 1 yard this season.
Jadon had five catches for 86 yards against UND in Grand Forks last season, while Jaxon had three grabs for 33 yards and a touchdown.
The two were a handful for UND all the way back to the Fighting Hawks' win over the Jacks in the spring of 2021. In that game, Jaxon had seven catches for 161 yards and two scores while Jadon had five catches for 109 yards.
In the offseason, former UND wide receiver Marcus Preston, who was expected to see a bump in usage in Grand Forks with the departure of senior Garett Maag, elected to transfer to South Dakota State after entering the transfer portal following the 2022 season.
Preston has battled injuries while in Brookings. He has one catch this year for 20 yards, which came two weeks ago in SDSU's win over Drake at Target Field.
The junior from Lawrence, Kan., caught 29 passes for 285 yards in three seasons at UND.
With all of SDSU's returners this season, there's still been room for a true freshman to make a splash.
Rookie wide receiver Griffin Wilde, who's 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, has a touchdown catch in all three of his career games.
The Sioux Falls native caught four passes for 79 yards and a touchdown against Western Oregon, two passes for 49 yards and a touchdown against Montana State and one touchdown grab for 18 yards against Drake.
South Dakota State quarterback Mark Gronowski is 25-3 as the Jacks' starting quarterback.
However, because the 6-foot-3 junior left a couple of those games early with an injury, some might consider Gronowski's only true loss at quarterback as UND's win in the spring of 2021 in Grand Forks.
In that game, Gronowski threw for 309 yards with two touchdowns but UND was able to pick him off twice and sack him three times.
UND was able to run effectively against the Jacks in that game, winning the rushing battle 177 to 96.
Pierre Strong, who's now in the NFL, ran for 95 yards. Otis Weah, who's no longer with UND, ran for 88 yards and two touchdowns including a 40-yard touchdown run with about seven minutes left to ice the win.
Current UND running back Luke Skokna ran for 73 yards and a touchdown against SDSU back in the spring of 2021.
South Dakota State ranks No. 1 in the FCS in points given up after three weeks. The Jacks are giving up just 10.0 points per game.
SDSU does have two games against teams who aren't fully funded Division I programs in Western Oregon and Drake. However, SDSU has one very quality win over Montana State, especially after the Bobcats dismantled Weber State last Saturday 40-0 in Ogden.
Incredibly, SDSU has been able to rank as the No. 1 scoring defense without generating a single quarterback sack this year.
With all of the returning experience for the Jacks, it's hard to think of SDSU in a new era of sorts.
But it's no longer John Stiegelmeier at head coach of SDSU. He retired in January after 26 years and 199 wins. He now works for the SDSU Foundation and assists with fundraising efforts.
SDSU's new coach is Jimm Rogers, SDSU's defensive coordinator of the national championship team.
Rogers was named the 2022 FCS Coordinator of the Year by FootballScoop.com.
Rogers, an Arizona native, was a standout defensive player for the Jacks. He was a two-time all-conference pick and played from 2006-09.
South Dakota State will look very similar to the 2022 version UND fans saw in Grand Forks.
The only starter the Jacks lost on offense was tight end Tucker Kraft, now with the Green Bay Packers. But Kraft missed much of 2022 with an injury and his replacement Zach Heins caught 29 balls last season.
In addition to Gronowski back for a third year as the team's starter at quarterback, running back Isaiah Davis returns after 1,451 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2022. The entire offensive line is back, led by All-Americans Garret Greenfield and Mason McCormick.
SDSU's biggest loss likely came along the defensive line where top pass rushers Reece Winkelman and Caleb Sanderson graduated.
The Jacks' top tackler in 2023 has been sixth-year senior linebacker Saiveon Williamson of Waseca, Minn. He has 23 tackles, nine more than anyone else.
