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3 takeaways from South Dakota State football dominating Murray State

Posted on by Kennedy
3 takeaways from South Dakota State football dominating Murray State

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It would almost be human nature if the South Dakota State football team took one look at Murray State's 1-7 record and decided to send it in. No. 3 South Dakota State football had a strong performance Saturday, rolling over Murray State 52-6.

The Jackrabbits earned a 20-17 overtime win over South Dakota while the Racers snapped a five-game losing streak.

“We never want to overlook an opponent,” senior offensive lineman Gus Miller said. “Because the game will disrespect you in that regard.”

Instead of focusing on Murray State and their performance this season, the SDSU football team focused on themselves.

“Coach Rogers does a great job of making it the Jacks against the Jacks every game,” junior safety Tucker Large said after the game. “No matter who our opponent is, we just want to do our best. So if we know our standard and implement it, good things will happen.”

Although the SDSU offense hadn't looked great in recent games against North Dakota State and South Dakota, they put up points in a rush against Murray State on Saturday. South Dakota State scored points on six of its first seven drives and entered halftime with a commanding 38-6 lead.

The Jackrabbits' starting quarterback, Mark Gronowski, only had to play two quarters before backup Chase Mason checked in. Gronowski completed nine of his 16 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown, while Mason threw for 82 yards and a touchdown and hit a Murray State player over the hurdle. Junior running back Angel Johnson posted a career-high 132 rushing yards on just seven carries.

Here are a few takeaways from South Dakota State's 52-6 win over Murray State.

The tight ends got more involved against Murray State

South Dakota State football coach Jimmy Rogers challenged his team last week, asking them to get their tight ends more involved in the offense.

“These guys are versatile. I said from the beginning that they had a lot of talent,” Rogers said. “We need to utilize them and it’s exciting to get them going because if we can develop them with confidence, they’re really talented.”

It was clear from the first trip that this was a focus. Gronowski finished that drive with 63 yards and multiple passes to his tight ends. By the end of the game, the three tight ends had 94 receiving yards on five receptions.

Freshman tight end Davin Stoffel finished the game with 60 yards on just three receptions. Brody Gormley recorded one reception for 19 yards and David Alpers had 15 yards on one reception.

Angel Johnson's Career Day

Johnson had a game on Saturday and set a new career high in rushing yards with 132 on just seven carries. The Viborg, South Dakota, native also had a touchdown.

“Grateful to have a career highlight, thankful for the guys blocking my front line,” Johnson said after the game.

Johnson may have had the play of the game in the first quarter when he exploded through a gap in the defense for a 67-yard touchdown run. He also recorded a 48-yard run that set up another Jackrabbits touchdown early in the third quarter.

Rogers called a play in which Johnson took advantage of the four yards the defense gave him instead of trying to make a home run play a sign of his growth.

“Mentally, he’s made big leaps every year in his career,” Rogers said. “I would say one area where he has improved is pass protection, he knows what he is doing and has become a more reliable pass catcher.

“But he is explosive. If you give him the ball and there’s a gap, he can kind of wiggle his way out of it, and when he gets going, there’s not a lot of people that can catch him.”

A new name is ready to make an impact at wide receiver

Coons Rapids, Minnesota native Lofton O'Groske will always remember that game against Murray State. Five games into the season, the true freshman had his redshirt tag removed, and on Saturday he recorded a team-high five receptions, 50 yards and the first touchdown of his college career.

“They gave me a chance and I just did my job,” O’Groske said. “That’s what they say. They say: Do your job. You’re one of eleven.”

Junior wide receiver Grahm Goering failed to record a reception Saturday and was seen cautiously walking along the sidelines. Rogers said after the game that Goering was fine, but if the injury was more serious than initially expected, they may have found another reliable option at wide receiver.

“We are confident in Lofton,” Rogers said. “He is a dynamic playmaker and that is a big reason why we need to have depth at that position if we want to lose one or two of these players. He’s really hard for us to stop on defense when he goes up and passes the ball high against us on some All-American corners.”

Next

South Dakota State travels to Grand Forks, North Dakota to face the University of North Dakota on Saturday, November 9th at 1 p.m

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