2016 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team

2016 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football
MVFC co-champion
FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals, L 10–36 vs. North Dakota State
Conference	Missouri Valley Football Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 6
FCS Coaches	No. 7
Record	9–4 (7–1 MVFC)
Head coach	John Stiegelmeier (20th season)
Offensive coordinator	Eric Eidsness (11th season)
Defensive coordinator	Clint Brown (8th season)
Home stadium	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
Seasons ←  2015 2017  →

2016 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 3 North Dakota State +^		7	–	1					12	–	2
No. 6 South Dakota State +^		7	–	1					9	–	4
No. 2 Youngstown State ^		6	–	2					12	–	4
Illinois State ^		4	–	4					6	–	6
Northern Iowa		4	–	4					5	–	6
Western Illinois		3	–	5					6	–	5
South Dakota		3	–	5					4	–	7
Indiana State		2	–	6					4	–	7
Missouri State		2	–	6					4	–	7
Southern Illinois		2	–	6					4	–	7
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2016 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 20th-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 9–4 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, sharing the MVFC with North Dakota State. Due to their head-to-head victory over North Dakota State during the regular season, South Dakota State received the MVFC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where, after a first-round bye, the Jackrabbits defeated Villanova in the second round, before losing in the quarterfinals in a re-match with North Dakota State. The team played home games on campus at the newly-opened Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	7:00 pm	at No. 13 (FBS) TCU *	No. 8	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX	FSN	L 41–59	43,450
September 10	6:00 pm	Drake *	No. 9	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD	ESPN3	W 56–28	15,171 (R)
September 17	6:00 pm	Cal Poly *	No. 9	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD	ESPN3	L 31–38	16,887 (R)
October 1	6:00 pm	No. 8 Western Illinois	No. 15	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD	ESPN3	W 52–14	14,155
October 8	6:00 pm	at Southern Illinois	No. 12	Saluki Stadium Carbondale, IL	ESPN3	W 45–39	5,704
October 15	2:30 pm	at No. 1 North Dakota State	No. 11	Fargodome Fargo, ND (Dakota Marker)	NBC ND, ESPN3	W 19–17	18,828
October 22	2:00 pm	No. 13 Youngstown State	No. 7	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD	Midco SN	W 24–10	17,730 (R)
October 29	2:00 pm	at Illinois State	No. 7	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	CSN CH, ESPN3	L 21–38	7,595
November 5	2:00 pm	Missouri State	No. 13	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD	Midco SN	W 49–24	10,826
November 12	2:00 pm	South Dakota	No. 11	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD (rivalry)	Midco SN	W 28–21	15,345
November 19	4:00 pm	at Northern Iowa	No. 8	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN3	W 45–24	10,511
December 3	2:00 pm	No. 9 Villanova *	No. 7	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD (NCAA Division Second Round)	ESPN3	W 10–7	6,154
December 10	11:00 am	at No. 4 North Dakota State*	No. 7	Fargodome Fargo, ND (NCAA Division Quarterfinal)	ESPN	L 10–36**	18,285
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

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• ** Most watched FCS Game of all time - 1.98m viewers on ESPN
• R indicates record attendance

Game summaries

@ TCU

	1	2	3	4	Total
#8 Jackrabbits	3	21	14	3	41
#13 (FBS) Horned Frogs	7	17	21	14	59

See also: 2016 TCU Horned Frogs football team

Drake

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	0	14	0	14	28
#9 Jackrabbits	21	7	7	21	56

See also: 2016 Drake Bulldogs football team

Cal Poly

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	7	10	0	21	38
#9 Jackrabbits	7	3	7	14	31

See also: 2016 Cal Poly Mustangs football team

Western Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
#8 Leathernecks	14	0	0	0	14
#15 Jackrabbits	7	21	24	0	52

See also: 2016 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team

@ Southern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
#12 Jackrabbits	14	14	7	10	45
Salukis	7	11	14	7	39

See also: 2016 Southern Illinois Salukis football team

@ North Dakota State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#11 Jackrabbbits	0	3	7	9	19
#1 Bison	0	10	7	0	17

See also: 2016 North Dakota State Bison football team and Dakota Marker

Youngstown State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#13 Penguins	3	0	0	7	10
#7 Jackrabbits	14	3	7	0	24

See also: 2016 Youngstown State Penguins football team

@ Illinois State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#7 Jackrabbits	0	14	7	0	21
Redbirds	14	14	0	10	38

See also: 2016 Illinois State Redbirds football team

Missouri State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	14	3	0	7	24
#13 Jackrabbits	14	7	21	7	49

See also: 2016 Missouri State Bears football team

South Dakota

	1	2	3	4	Total
Coyotes	0	7	7	7	21
#11 Jackrabbits	7	0	14	7	28

See also: 2016 South Dakota Coyotes football team and South Dakota–South Dakota State football rivalry

@ Northern Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
#8 Jackrabbbits	14	7	7	17	45
Panthers	14	3	7	0	24

See also: 2016 Northern Iowa Panthers football team

FCS Playoffs

Second Round–Villanova

	1	2	3	4	Total
#9 Wildcats	0	7	0	0	7
#7 Jackrabbits	7	0	0	3	10

See also: 2016 Villanova Wildcats football team

Quarterfinals–North Dakota State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#7 Jackrabbits	10	0	0	0	10
#4 Bison	7	7	8	14	36

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	8	9	9	15	15	12	11	7	7	13	11	8	7	6
Coaches	14	12	10	18	16	15	14	11	10	15	12	10	7	7
FCS Playoffs	Not released									—	—	10	Not released

References

1. "South Dakota State Jackrabbits Schedule 2016". ESPN . Retrieved January 17, 2024.
2. "2016 Football Schedule". South Dakota State University Athletics. Retrieved January 17, 2024.