SDSU Jackrabbits Pick Up 35-14 Win at Murray State

Every game within the Missouri Valley is a challenge, and the Murray State Racers proved that on Saturday afternoon.

In a game moved up due to weather threats in the area, the Racers were the big threat on Saturday.

They held serve with one of the top teams in the country through a good portion of the game on Saturday, and ultimately fell to the SDSU Jackrabbits 35-14.

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The latest win gives the #2 Jacks a 7-0 start to the season:

MURRAY, Ky. — Redshirt freshman Luke Marble and Jack Smith connected on two touchdown passes and the South Dakota State defense came up with five stops deep in its own territory as the second-ranked Jackrabbits pulled away for a 35-14 victory over an upstart Murray State squad Saturday afternoon at Roy Stewart Stadium.

With the win, the Jackrabbits improved to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Murray State remained winless, falling to 0-7 and 0-3, respectively.

Marble entered the game after the Jackrabbits' starting quarterback, Chase Mason, was injured on SDSU's initial drive of the game. Mason hobbled off the field after ending a 14-play, 82-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown run.

The first Jackrabbit scoring drive came after SDSU took over at its own 18-yard line after the first of two Jalen Lee interceptions on the day.

Murray State would answer with a 65-yard touchdown pass from Jim Ogle to Darius Cannon late in the first quarter, but Marble and the Jackrabbits would take the lead for good early in the second quarter. On the first play of the go-ahead drive, Marble fired a pass into a stiff breeze that was hauled in by Alex Bullock for a 43-yard gain to the MSU 45. Five plays later, Marble found Smith in the left flat for a 10-yard touchdown.

MSU appeared to be on the verge of re-tying the game late in the first half, but SDSU middle linebacker Joe Ollman made a diving interception in the back of the end zone to keep the Jackrabbits in the lead at 14-7.

SDSU extended its lead to 21-7 on the opening possession of the second half when Marble found Smith wide open along the left sideline. The Jackrabbit wide receiver again made a man miss as he slipped through a would-be tackle on his way to the end zone for a 46-yard touchdown.

The Racers were again on the doorstep on the ensuing possession, but were turned back on downs after getting as close as the Jackrabbit 4-yard line. A sack by Dawson Ripperda on fourth down kept the SDSU advantage at 14 points.

The Jackrabbits turned to freshman running back Josiah Johnson as the third quarter flipped to the fourth. In his first offensive series of the season, the Milwaukee native carried on eight of nine plays of the drive for 46 yards, including the final yard of a four-minute drive, for his first collegiate touchdown.

SDSU continued to grind away down the stretch as all 20 of the Jackrabbits' offensive plays in the final stanza were rushing attempts. For the game, the Jackrabbits ran 52 times for 211 yards with Julius Loughridge leading the way with 88 yards on 25 carries. Johnson ended the afternoon with 10 carries for 58 yards and James Basinger added 32 yards on six carries, including a 6-yard touchdown run to cap the scoring after Murray State scored on a 60-yard screen pass from Ogle to Jordan Washington.

Interceptions by Lee and Jayden Oliver — one at the SDSU 15 and the other in the end zone — on the final two Racer possessions sealed the Jackrabbit victory.

SDSU ended the game with a 469-439 advantage in total offense and racked up 35 minutes and 55 seconds in time of possession. Marble completed 13-of-21 passes for 189 yards while Mason was 5-of-6 for 69 yards in his limited action. Bullock tallied six receptions for 99 yards — all in the first half — and Smith contributed five catches for 91 yards to go along with his two touchdowns.

For Murray State, Ogle completed 20-of-32 passes for 327 yards, with Cannon catching five balls for an even 100 yards. Washington led the Racers' rushing attack with 56 yards on 13 carries.

Chase Van Tol led the Jackrabbit defense with eight tackles, followed by Lee with five stops.

Conlee Crossno led all players with 12 tackles for Murray State.

UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits return home to meet top-ranked North Dakota State in the annual Dakota Marker matchup Oct. 25. Kickoff before a sold-out crowd at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium and a national television audience is set for 7 p.m.

Source: GoJacks.com