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Finish of the season? South Dakota shocks South Dakota State on last-second Hail Mary

Sam Cooper
College football writer
·2 min read
5

The finish of the season in college football came in a big FCS rivalry game on Saturday.

How does a walk-off Hail Mary sound?

In the annual South Dakota Showdown between South Dakota and South Dakota State, South Dakota’s Carson Camp hit Jeremiah Webb for a 57-yard touchdown as time expired, giving the Coyotes an exhilarating 23-20 victory over the Jackrabbits.

Camp deftly avoided the SDSU pass rush to get that throw off, and then the Jackrabbits were unable to knock the ball down. Somehow, it ended up in the waiting arms of Webb for the game-winning touchdown.

But to really illustrate how unlikely that outcome was, we need to rewind a bit. South Dakota State took a 20-17 lead with 6:10 to go and was desperately trying to hold on to that lead.

After South Dakota’s next drive ended with a turnover on downs with 1:59 to play, South Dakota State tried to run out the clock. Eventually, SDSU had a fourth-and-1 from the South Dakota 43 with just eight seconds to go.

Instead of trying to get the first down or attempt a punt, South Dakota State’s coaches instructed quarterback Chris Oladokun to get the remaining time off the clock by any means necessary. Oladokun tried to run around for a bit before chucking it up.

There was one problem, though. After a review, it was determined that there was still a second on the clock after he did that.

The incompletion gave the ball back to the Coyotes at their own 43-yard line, setting up that improbable Hail Mary.

South Dakota State has dominated this series in recent years, so this was an especially sweet way for South Dakota to pull out a victory. The teams last played in 2019, a game South Dakota won 24-21. Before that victory, South Dakota State had beaten South Dakota 10 consecutive times and 21 of the last 24 in the series.

Before the wins in 2019 and this year, South Dakota hadn’t won back-to-back games over South Dakota State since 1987 and 1988.

With Saturday’s win, South Dakota improved to 7-3 overall with a 5-2 mark in Missouri Valley play. South Dakota State dropped to 7-3 and 4-3 in conference games.