Matt Zimmer: South Dakota State smashes Mercer in playoff opener, and the nation's best defense leads the way

Dec. 2—BROOKINGS — South Dakota State gained 571 yards and ran for 346 against the No. 2 rushing defense in the Southern Conference on Saturday, but it was hard to argue that the star of their 41-0 second-round win over Mercer was the Jackrabbit defense.

SDSU pitched its first-ever playoff shutout, and unlike many other games where opponents move the ball when the Jacks take out their starters, Mercer never so much as threatened to get on the board in this one.

The Bears finished with a mere 151 yards of total offense — 76 on the ground and 75 in the air. Carter Peevy, the Mercer quarterback, had been an efficient player through the Tigers' first 12 games. He managed just 12 net yards rushing and just 75 yards passing on 22 attempts. He was intercepted twice, after having thrown just three all season. The Jacks recorded a pair of sacks and held the Bears to 1 of 10 on third down, and that one conversion came very late in the game.

It was, put simply, complete ownage by the Jackrabbit defense.

What, specifically, coach Jimmy Rogers was asked, led to that kind of performance?

"We really preach alignment and assignment and where your eyes go and keeping leverage on the ball," the former defensive coordinator said. "And not being outflanked by bodies with a team like that, that shifts and motions immediately. You've got to do a really good job of communicating. It starts with setting the front the right way and being able to shift when they shift the O-linemen."

Uh, OK, maybe not that specific, Jim.

"We were able to create some movement up front defensively and create some pressure to make it hard to throw against us," the coach continued. "And we tackled fairly well and were able to get off the field on third down."

Ah. Got it.

"We went into this game knowing we should dominate," said cornerback Dalys Beanum, who had one of the Jacks' two interceptions. "It just goes to the week we had. Putting in the focus in the film room and the practice we put out. Everyone was locked in, and we were ready to go today."

The Bears were appearing in their first FCS playoff, fully aware that they faced overwhelmingly long odds in extending what has been the best season in their fledgling program's decade of existence. And coach Drew Cronic had few criticisms of his offense's failures after the loss.

"We got pushed around a little bit," Cronic said. "We had a tough time protecting the passer. We were gonna need to play a perfect game to give ourselves a chance, and we didn't do that."

Would it have mattered if they had? Probably not.

Was this the best defense Mercer played this year, Cronic was asked? Perhaps not a totally fair question, as they faced Ole Miss this year, the 11th-ranked team in the FBS. But hey, the Rebels didn't shut them out. The Jacks did.

"Yeah, probably," Cronic answered. "They're tremendous up front — length, size. They're very well-coached. They're exactly where they're supposed to be. They're physical, and they run to the football. It's very impressive. I didn't enjoy getting my butt kicked, but I enjoyed being able to see that."

Cronic is not the first coach this year (or last, when SDSU won its first national championship) to express admiration for the Jacks' defense. Rogers indicated it's humbling to hear that but not especially important. They know how good they are, and they know why. They have extremely good defensive players, coaches who put them in the right situations, and they just don't make mistakes.

"Do your 1/11th" used to be a mantra Jackrabbit defenders repeated often. We don't hear it so much anymore (outside the program, at least). It's almost like it doesn't need to be said at this point. It's a given. The Jacks aren't unbeatable, but man, if you're counting on their defense to make a mistake to lose them a game, you could find yourself waiting a long time.

Next up is Villanova, a team that scored 45 points in a win over Youngstown State on Saturday. The Jacks beat them in Philadelphia two years ago, and a defense that shut the Wildcats out in the second half of that game has only gotten better — much better — since then.

"Is it perfect? No, it never will be," said Rogers, whose defense is now allowing an average of just over 10 points per game. "But that's the goal. The standard here is to win on defense, and that'll never change as long as I'm here."