Jacks not looking past D-III Wisconsin-Oshkosh

BROOKINGS – Tonight, South Dakota State gets to be Missouri.

That is, the Jackrabbits tonight are playing the role of the heavy favorite from a higher level against Wisconsin-Oshkosh, an NCAA Division III outfit set to visit Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.

The pregame score in terms of athletic scholarships available: Jackrabbits 63, Titans 0. That's almost triple the discrepancy between FCS SDSU and its Week 1 foe, reigning SEC East champ Mizzou. Accordingly, the line set by offshore site 5dimes is considerably higher than it was for the opener with SDSU favored by 45.

The No. 10-ranked Jacks (2-1) are coming off a pair of convincing victories over respected Big Sky squads and are in position to make John Stiegelmeier the winningest coach in school history. Meanwhile, Oshkosh is 0-2 and out of the D-III rankings heading into its first matchup against a Division I team since 1975.

Of course, SDSU players and coaches don't want to hear any of this – neither do the fans that remember a 2006 home loss to another school from the UW system. The underdog Titans can afford to be more frank.

"We need to survive this," Titans eighth-year coach Pat Cerroni said. "If we survive this game with people being healthy and just feeling good about themselves walking off the field, that will be a valuable experience for the guys for the next seven games."

Oshkosh is a member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which is regularly among the best in D-III. The club made the national semifinals in 2012 and went 8-2 last season. Still, playing up two levels is a considerable task, and the only such matchup on the Valley docket this season.

Just how did this game come about? In short, both teams have had enough recent success at their respective levels to make it difficult to find home games. The Jacks try to fill their schedules years in advance, but in this case had one vacancy to fill and all last-ditch attempts to land an FCS foe fell through. By that time, regional Division II options were nil, as well.

Although winning in this game won't count toward SDSU's official resume in terms of playoff consideration, it's better than the alternative: Consecutive bye weeks. That was a disruptive proposition for a program seeking a third consecutive postseason bid.

The Titans were facing the prospect of a nine-game season if not for the offer from the Jacks. Ultimately, Stiegelmeier sold Cerroni on the deal. Cerroni saw Stiegelmeier present at a summer coaching clinic in the Twin Cities and came away impressed.

"He made me feel pretty comfortable that he wasn't going to take advantage of it," said Cerroni, who has a mark of 47-28. "He's a good person. I knew right away, if this can get done then I want to do it because he gets it."

Stiegelmeier has been leading his alma mater since 1997. His next win will be No. 114, breaking a tie with Ralph Ginn (1947-68) for the most in a career at SDSU.

UWO is an interesting foil for reasons that go beyond its classification. Offensively, it's all over the place as evidenced by the number of trick plays the SDSU scout team ran in practice this week. But defensively, it's almost singular in its use of a 3-4 scheme with few variations.

As expected, SDSU has a massive size advantage. The Titans' starting D-linemen check in at 255, 235 and 230 pounds. The Jacks range from 275-315 on the offensive line and aren't lacking depth even with starters Trevor Greger and Bryce Siverling – plus tight end Cam Jones – likely out due to ankle injuries.

Assumed advantages haven't been discussed any more than usual this week.

"We're trying to get better," Stiegelmeier said. "We're doing the same thing we do every week – we seldom talk about anything beyond the nature of your opponent. We don't measure our effort toward the level of the opponent. We didn't work any harder for Mizzou. It's all about getting better."

To that end, SDSU came up with its first three takeaways of the season last week, but didn't tackle especially well. Sophomore quarterback Zach Lujan threw a couple of interceptions that were considered mental errors in his second start for injured senior Austin Sumner.

Things can get better and will need to be come Oct. 4 against Illinois State in the Missouri Valley Football Conference opener. This is the Jacks' last chance for game reps prior to the start of the generally grueling league slate.

"We're just treating it like any other game," said redshirt freshman center Jacob Ohnesorge, one of eight Jacks from Wisconsin. "We don't really care who we're playing. We're just trying to make the best of it and improve every single day."

WISCONSIN-OSHKOSH (0-2) at SDSU (2-1)

When/where: 6 p.m. at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium

Video: Available for purchase from GoJacks.com

Radio: KELO-AM 1320, KELQ-FM 107.9 (Sioux Falls); WNAX-AM 570 (Yankton); KJJQ-AM 910 (Brookings); KORN-AM 1490 (Mitchell); KSDR-AM 1480 (Watertown)

Coaches: SDSU: John Stiegelmeier (18th year, 113-82); Pat Cerroni (eighth year, 47-28)

Series: First meeting

Last week: SDSU beat Southern Utah 26-6 in Cedar City, while Oshkosh lost 24-20 at home against Marian (Ind.) University

Rankings: SDSU is No. 10 in the FCS coaches and media polls

Live chat: Terry Vandrovec will host a live chat from the game at argusleader.com