2017 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team

The 2017 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 21st-year head coach John Stiegelmeier and played their home games at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota as members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Jackrabbits finished the season 11–3, 6–2 in MVFC play to finish in a tie for second place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs^[2] where they defeated Northern Iowa in the second round^[3][4] and New Hampshire in the quarterfinals^[5] before losing in the semifinals to James Madison.^[6]

2017 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football
FCS Playoffs Semifinals, L 16–51 vs. James Madison
Conference	Missouri Valley Football Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 3
FCS Coaches	No. 4
Record	11–3 (6–2 MVFC)
Head coach	John Stiegelmeier (21st season)
Offensive coordinator	Eric Eidsness
Defensive coordinator	Clint Brown
Home stadium	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium (Capacity: 19,340)^[1]
Seasons ← 2016 2018 →

2017 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 North Dakota State $^		7	–	1					14	–	1
No. 3 South Dakota State ^		6	–	2					11	–	3
No. 19 Northern Iowa ^		6	–	2					8	–	5
No. 13 Western Illinois ^		5	–	3					8	–	4
No. 15 South Dakota ^		4	–	4					8	–	5
Illinois State		4	–	4					6	–	5
Youngstown State		4	–	4					6	–	5
Southern Illinois		2	–	6					4	–	7
Missouri State		2	–	6					3	–	8
Indiana State		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Schedule and results

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	7:00 p.m.	Duquesne*	No. 4	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD	ESPN3	W 51–13	12,218
September 9	7:00 p.m.	at Montana State*	No. 4	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	Pluto TV	W 31–27	19,817
September 16	6:00 p.m.	Drake*	No. 4	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD	ESPN3	W 51–10	15,806
September 30	7:00 p.m.	at No. 6 Youngstown State	No. 4	Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, OH	ESPN3	L 7–19	17,450
October 7	6:00 p.m.	Southern Illinois	No. 8	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD	ESPN3	W 49–14	12,891
October 14	2:00 p.m.	Northern Iowa	No. 7	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD	ESPN3	L 18–38	14,347
October 21	2:00 p.m.	at Missouri State	No. 13	Robert W. Plaster Stadium Springfield, MO	ESPN3	W 62–30	6,253
October 28	1:00 p.m.	at No. 12 Western Illinois	No. 11	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	ESPN3	W 52–24	2,247
November 4	2:00 p.m.	No. 2 North Dakota State	No. 10	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD (Dakota Marker)	ESPN3	W 33–21	18,130
November 11	2:00 p.m.	No. 17 Illinois State	No. 6	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD	ESPN3	W 27–24 ^OT	9,458
November 18	2:00 p.m.	at No. 15 South Dakota	No. 6	DakotaDome Vermillion, SD (South Dakota Showdown Series)	ESPN3	W 31–28	10,147
December 2	2:00 p.m.	No. 20 Northern Iowa*	No. 6	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD (FCS Playoffs Second Round)	ESPN3	W 37–22	7,815
December 9	2:00 p.m.	No. 21 New Hampshire*	No. 6	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD (FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals)	ESPN3	W 56–14	5,583
December 16	6:00 p.m.	at No. 1 James Madison*	No. 6	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA (FCS Playoffs Semifinals)	ESPNU	L 16–51	16,528
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS FCS at time of game Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

• Source: [1]

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	4 (2)	4 (1)	4 (1)	4 (1)	4 (1)	8	7	13	11	10	6	6	6	3
Coaches	6 (1)	4	4	4	4	9	7	13	8–T	8	5	5	6	4

Jackrabbits drafted

Draft Year	Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL Team
2018	Dallas Goedert	TE	2	49	Philadelphia Eagles

References

1. "Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Gameday". September 7, 2016.
2. "South Dakota State nabs No. 5 seed in FCS playoffs". Argus Leader. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
3. "Northern Iowa vs. South Dakota State - Game Recap - December 2, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
4. Nelson, Jim. "College football: UNI falls to SDSU in second-round of FCS playoffs, 37-22". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
5. "New Hampshire vs. South Dakota State - Game Recap - December 9, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
6. "James Madison Dukes force 10 turnovers, end South Dakota State's season". Argus Leader. Retrieved January 18, 2018.