Turnovers lift Jacks to big win over S. Utah

CEDAR CITY, Utah – South Dakota State was not as postcard perfect as the mountainous backdrop of Eccles Coliseum on Saturday night, yet it dominated Southern Utah in a matchup of 2013 playoff qualifiers.

Bolstered by their first three takeaways of the season, the No. 11-ranked Jackrabbits flirted with a shutout, posted two defensive scores and got 140 yards from star running back Zach Zenner to top the Thunderbirds 26-6 before a homecoming crowd of 5,017.

Postgame video: SDSU trumps Southern Utah

With the win, SDSU improves to 2-1 with a home game against an NCAA Division III team on deck followed by a bye. Plus, 18-year SDSU coach John Stiegelmeier tied Ralph Ginn (1947-68) for the school record for career wins at 113.

Sometimes sloppy or not, it was the ideal outcome to an 83-degree day.

"I thought early in the game things went our way," Stiegelmeier said. "We got a lead. Our defense played a great first half and, again, just really excited to get the win out there against a really quality opponent."

The Jacks took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards on 13 plays in 5:13 — the drive ending on a 1-yard plunge by Reggie Gandy. The tone had been set: SDSU was the most physical team, as has been the case in most recent meetings with Big Sky squads. The Jacks are 5-1 against teams from that league dating to 2012 and Zenner has 1,149 yards in those games.

The Thunderbirds didn't score until less than 6 minutes remained. By that time, they were down 24-0. What's more, SDSU answered the score, true freshman cornerback Trey Carr picking off a fake kick on the PAT and returning it for two points. It was the second defensive PAT in Jacks history, and part of a breakout day for the touted recruit from Omaha. He also snagged an interception – with one hand – in the third quarter and broke up a pass on a fourth-down attempt in the fourth.

Still, defensive tackle Shayne Gottlob made the most momentous play of the game. The sophomore from Salem made like the converted tight end that he is and got his hands up to intercepted a contested screen pass and returned it 4 yards – just a couple of strides, really – to give SDSU a 14-0 edge one play into the second quarter.

It was the Jacks' first takeaway of the season – a sore spot for the defense – and made up for a couple of first-half interceptions thrown by SDSU quarterback Zach Lujan in his second start for injured senior Austin Sumner.

Except the Jacks didn't rely on turnovers. They gave up only 60 yards and three first downs in the first half. SDSU had 250 yards and 17 first downs to that point.

"All week the coaches were really doing a good job preparing us," Gottlob said, "and not only preparing us, but challenging the defense to be physical."

That bought time for the offense, allowed it to be hit and miss. Zenner did most of his damage in the first half, while Lujan finished 13 of 24 for 162 yards with one score and two turnovers. Maybe the most promising stat line in the scope of the season was that redshirt freshman Brady Mengarelli, a walk-on that ascended to become the No. 2 back, rushed for 65 yards and caught two passes for 17. It was the kind of performance that will allow the staff to feel comfortable alleviating the load on Zenner going forward as SDSU gets more serious about pushing for a third consecutive playoff berth.

There's more credence in that line of thinking in light of a comfortable win over the Thunderbirds (0-3). Now, the Jacks get to head home for a few weeks and work out some of the kinks, maybe get their long-time coach the school record outright.

"Let's break it next week," Zenner said with a smile. "Can't say enough about Stig and the vision he's had for this program, and I'm blessed to be a part of it."

First Quarter

SDSU—Gandy 1 run (Syrovatka kick), 9:47.

Second Quarter

SDSU—Gottlob 4 interception return (Syrovatka kick), 14:55.

SDSU—Wieneke 18 pass from Lujan (Syrovatka kick), 1:40.

Third Quarter

SDSU—FG Syrovatka 21, 11:53.

Fourth Quarter

SUt—T.Afatasi 1 run (pass failed), 5:18.

SDSU—2-point defensive conversion by T.Carr, 5:18.

A—5,017.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—S. Dakota State, Zenner 25-140, Mengarelli 13-65, Lujan 9-23, Gandy 2-4, Team 1-(minus 2). S. Utah, Pringle 13-65, Olsen 10-62, Te'o 4-10, M.Brown 3-7, T.Afatasi 5-7, Cantu 2-0, Ursua 1-(minus 1).

PASSING—S. Dakota State, Lujan 13-24-2-162. S. Utah, Olsen 8-18-1-94, Cantu 1-2-1-19.

RECEIVING—S. Dakota State, Wesley 4-40, Wieneke 3-68, Schneider 3-29, Mengarelli 2-17, Jones 1-8. S. Utah, Robinson 5-75, J.Brown 1-22, Pringle 1-11, Ursua 1-5, Jessop 1-0.

SDSU 26, S. Utah 6

The stat: The Jacks entered Saturday without a takeaway on defense. They ended with three including a pair of touchdowns.

Next: vs. Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Saturday, 6 p.m.