Gameday: South Dakota State is a big favorite as Murray State visits for the first time – Sioux Falls Live

MURRAY STATE (1-7) AT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (6-2)
WHEN/WHERE: Saturday, 2 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
TV: Midco Sports Network
RADIO: WNAX-AM 570; Jackrabbit Radio Affiliates
LINE: SDSU by 42.5
RECORD LAST YEAR: SDSU 15-0 (FCS champions); MSU 2-9
SERIES: First meeting
LAST WEEK: SDSU topped $20-17; Murray State lost to NDSU 59-6
RANKING: SDSU is the No. 3 seed in the FCS
Trainer: SDSU – Jimmy Rogers (sophomore, 21-2); MSU – Jody Wright (1st year)

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: Murray State joined the Missouri Valley Football Conference ahead of the 2023 season, immediately giving teams at the bottom of the league someone to beat.

The Racers, who haven't been to the FCS playoffs since 2002, have had just two winning seasons in the last decade – a 5-2 spring season in 2020-21 and a 6-5 mark the following year. And that was in the Ohio Valley Conference.

The Valley is a step up, and after a year and a half in their new conference home, the Racers are 3-16 and 1-12 in the league. They have been outscored 339-176 this year.

David Samson / The Forum

South Dakota State didn't have Murray State on its schedule last year and will get its first look at the Racers on Saturday when they come to Brookings.

Rogers vowed his team won't discount Murray State. They have good players, he says, and are still in the early stages of trying to build a Valley-caliber program under first-year coach Jody Wright, a former assistant with the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, and others Alabama Crimson Tide locations.

The Racers' defense is allowing more than 40 points per game, so this should be a chance for an SDSU offense that has scored just 23 points in the last eight regular quarters to get back on track and build momentum and confidence.

Offensively, Murray State likes to run the ball behind a solid committee of running backs and dual-threat quarterback Jayden Johannsen, the former Sioux Falls Washington Warrior.

Johannsen began his career at North Dakota State, transferred to South Dakota Schools of Mines where he became a Division II star, then moved back up to the FCS level for his final year of eligibility. In eight games, Johannsen has thrown for 1,061 yards and six touchdown passes with eight interceptions while rushing for more than 300 yards (not counting sacks).

South Dakota State beat rivals North Dakota State (13-9 loss) and South Dakota (20-17 win in overtime) beat rivals North Dakota State. Murray State has played both teams before, losing 59-0 to USD and 59-6 to the Bison.

That should give you a clue as to what might happen next.

Matt Zimmer is a Sioux Falls native and longtime sportswriter. He graduated from Washington High School, where he played football and Legion baseball and developed a lifelong love of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. After graduating from St. Cloud State University, he returned to Sioux Falls and began a long career in amateur baseball and sports reporting. Email Matt at [email protected].