SDSU

Jacks lose QB Sumner to injury in 38-18 loss to Missouri

Terry Vandrovec
tvandrovec@argusleader.com

COLUMBIA, Mo. At least nobody got hurt.

South Dakota State couldn't even say that about it's first-ever run in with an SEC squad.

Not only did the Jackrabbits get beat 38-18 by reigning Cotton Bowl champion Missouri on Saturday, they lost four-year starting quarterback Austin Sumner for 6-8 weeksbecause of a right-foot injury suffered in the first quarter.

The non-contact tweak – the senior was preparing to slide to the turf at the end of a run and wound up breaking three bones on the outside of his foot – was the story of the opener and maybe the highly-anticipated season.

Yet SDSU handled the adversity and the 24th-ranked Tigers relatively well in front of a national television audience and 60,589 fans, performing better than, say, last year, at the University of Nebraska.

It made for a complicated afternoon at Faurot Field.

"I was happy with what Zach (Lujan) was able to do. I was happy with the way we responded," coach John Stiegelmeier said. "Now, that's tempered by the feeling of losing a game that I thought – had we made some plays – we would have been able to scare them at the end, which was what our goal was."

Lujan is the replacement at quarterback. He's a true sophomore from Alaska by way of a California junior college, a late addition to this year's recruiting class. The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder finished 21 of 28 with 239 yards and an interception and had SDSU – 25-point underdogs – within 21-18 in the third quarter.

That's where the regrets began to surface. There were three, specifically, that the Jacks would like to take back.

First, Mizzou scored on a 100-yard kick return by Marcus Murphy, the Tigers' longest such return since 1976. So much for the momentum that SDSU gained in putting together a 10-play scoring drive on the opening possession of the second half.

Then, the Jacks committed two turnovers when in scoring range: Lujan was picked off in the end zone on second-and-2 from the Tigers 22-yard line in the middle of the third quarter, and senior receiver Jason Schneider fumbled at the Missouri 11-yard line at the end of a 22-yard catch in the middle of the fourth quarter.

In all, SDSU committed three turnovers and didn't gain any, complicit in the Tigers extending their NCAA Division I-best 45 games streak with at least one takeaway.

"Giving up basically two drives in the red zone – it's tough to win when you do that," Jacks running back Zach Zenner said. "You put 14 more points on the board and it's a different game."

To that end, SDSU scored 11 points in a row after the staggering start. The Jacks had a 359-333 advantage in total offense with less than six minutes remaining in the contest and finished with a 10-minute edge in time of possession.

Zenner, an All-American, went 75 yards for a touchdown on the Jacks' first offensive play en route to 103 total yards, his third triple-digit showing in a row against a power-conference team. Redshirt freshman receiver Jake Weineke caught six passes for 107 yards, including a one-hander in full stride.

Terry Vandrovec's SDSU blog

Defensively, the Jacks – ranked 10th in the FCS – came up with six stops in a row from late in the first quarter to early in the fourth. They gave up just one first down in the third.

Even with a retooled line, the Jacks never appeared to be on skates the way they did last year during a Week 4 visit to Lincoln.

"We calmed down and really started doing our assignments," said linebacker T.J. Lally, who had a game-high 11 tackles. "The game plan was awesome. I was really excited about it going in and thought that showed for most of the game."

Lujan followed the same curve, settling down as the game progressed, working through headless-chicken mode, as he called it.

Sumner, a Brandon Valley High grad, played a role in that – and not long after finding out his long-awaited senior season would be abbreviated. The SDSU career passing leader pulled aside Lujan at halftime, reassuring him that Mizzou was mortal and didn't have 30 defensive players on the field, encouraging him to go play ball.

"He went out and played well in the second half," said Sumner, who was outfitted with crutches and a protective boot. "I was proud of him. He'll be all right."

Will Lujan be the guy next week in the opener against Cal Poly (0-1) and beyond as the Jacks pursue a third consecutive playoff berth?

He hedged on that afterward, noting that he'll be praying for Sumner at the same time he prepares for a starting role. Stiegelmeier said that the staff also would discuss the option of pulling the redshirt on promising true freshman Chris Little.

Sumner, of all people, claimed that he was encouraged by what the Jacks showed Saturday. This was a difficult start rather than an end.

"We're going to have to take this loss and make it a positive," Stiegelmeier said. "We have a ton of winners. We'll come back and we'll be a better team – a lot better team – come next Saturday."

BOX SCORE

No. 24 MISSOURI 38, S. DAKOTA STATE 18

S. Dakota State 7 3 8 0—18

Missouri 21 0 7 10—38

First Quarter

Mo_White 44 pass from Mauk (Baggett kick), 14:10.

SDSt_Zenner 75 run (Syrovatka kick), 13:57.

Mo_White 39 pass from Mauk (Baggett kick), 7:38.

Mo_Hansbrough 10 run (Baggett kick), 6:31.

Second Quarter

SDSt_FG Syrovatka 39, 3:58.

Third Quarter

SDSt_Zenner 3 run (Schneider pass from Lujan), 10:28.

Mo_Murphy 100 kickoff return (Baggett kick), 10:12.

Fourth Quarter

Mo_Sasser 29 pass from Mauk (Baggett kick), 10:18.

Mo_FG Baggett 44, 1:13.

A_60,589.

___

SDSt - Mo

First downs 15 19

Rushes-yards 32-119 39-215

Passing 246 178

Comp-Att-Int 23-32-2 13-21-0

Return Yards 0 20

Punts-Avg. 6-35.7 4-43.0

Fumbles-Lost 2-1 1-0

Penalties-Yards 5-25 5-27

Time of Possession 35:24 24:36

___

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING_S. Dakota State, Zenner 17-103, Sumner 2-18, Gandy 3-3, Mengarelli 2-(minus 2), Lujan 8-(minus 3). Missouri, Hansbrough 20-126, Murphy 9-54, Mauk 5-17, T.Hunt 2-9, Witter 3-9.

PASSING_S. Dakota State, Lujan 21-28-1-239, Sumner 2-4-1-7. Missouri, Mauk 13-21-0-178.

RECEIVING_S. Dakota State, Zenner 7-41, Wieneke 6-107, Schneider 5-67, Raymond 1-12, Goedert 1-9, Mengarelli 1-5, Jones 1-3, Gandy 1-2. Missouri, J.Hunt 3-31, Murphy 3-20, White 2-83, Sasser 2-37, Leftwich 2-10, Hansbrough 1-(minus 3).