SDSU Football: Incarnate Word is a challenging opponent for the Jackrabbits in their home game – Sioux Falls Live

BROOKINGS — South Dakota State began its bid for a third straight FCS victory against perhaps the toughest opponent it has ever faced: Big 12 heavyweight Oklahoma State. The result was a 44-20 loss that ended the Jackrabbits’ 29-game winning streak.

In week 2 it gets easier. But not much.

SDSU kicks off the home schedule on Saturday with one of the most exciting FCS non-conference games of the season when they host the 12th-ranked Incarnate Word Cardinals at 6 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

The Cardinals started the season 1-0 after a 28-7 win over Northern Colorado and have quickly risen to the top tier of FCS teams in their very short existence as a football program.

The Cardinals have a 31-7 record over the past three-plus seasons, with two playoff appearances and a semifinal trip that brought them dangerously close to the national championship game in 2022, where they would have faced SDSU.

Interestingly, the Jacks find themselves in a similar situation to the last time they lost a game. In 2022, they opened at Iowa and lost 7-3 to a Hawkeye team that would go on to win the Big Ten West.

A week later, they returned home to play their first home game against UC-Davis, an FCS playoff team. The Jacks won the game to start their 29-game winning streak, but the 24-22 victory did not come easily.

And Incarnate Word is probably better than the UC-Davis team.

“This is one of the most successful programs in the country since 2021,” SDSU coach Jimmy Rogers said. “Our guys are not going to overlook that.”

David Samson/The Forum

The University of Incarnate Word is a private Catholic university based in San Antonio and the largest Catholic school in Texas with an enrollment of over 9,000 students. While the college was founded over 140 years ago, the football program is new. The Cardinals team was founded in 2009 as a Division II independent and finished 5-5 in its first year of play. They then posted 3-win, 2-win, and 2-win seasons before making the jump to the FCS level in 2013. The Cardinals finished 6-5 in 2013 and joined the Southland Conference a year later. Eric Morris took over in 2018 and led UIW to their first playoff appearance, where they finished 6-4 before losing to Montana State in the first round.

Two years later, the Cardinals went 10-3 and swept the Southland team outright, advancing to the second round of the playoffs. That team was led by quarterback Cam Ward, who threw 47 touchdown passes, transferred to Washington State, played two more good seasons and is now the starter at Miami. Morris left to coach North Texas and was replaced by GJ Kinne, who led the Cardinals to a 12-win season and the 2022 FCS semifinals, where they lost narrowly 35-32 to North Dakota State at the Fargodome. Kinne left to take over at Texas State after just one season and was replaced by assistant Clint Killough, a former UIW wide receiver and San Antonio native.

The Cardinals finished 8-2 last year (9-2 if you count a forfeit against Northwestern State) but failed to make the playoffs. Considering the two losses came against an FBS team and the Southland champion, it was a bitter pill to swallow that will surely motivate the Cardinals this season.

Their roster had to endure a lot of turnover last year. UIW brought in 19 players, including five wide receivers, five linebackers, three defensive linemen and three offensive linemen.

Jenn Kenyon/Sioux Falls Live

Several key players from last year return, notably All-Southland quarterback Zach Calzada, who himself transferred from Texas A&M, linebacker Tylan Foster and safeties Ronald Wilson and Mason Chambers.

Certainly the festivities that come with it being the first home game and SDSU having a chance to honor the Jacks for their second consecutive national championship might create a certain energy in the arena that benefits the home team. The game is sold out – over 19,000 fans. UIW, on the other hand, had 2,257 fans at their first home game last week.

“It should be a great atmosphere,” SDSU senior wideout Devon Cole said. “It’s always exciting when we can pack Dana J. We can’t wait to see all those fans and go out there and fly around and make plays.”

Matt Zimmer is a Sioux Falls native and longtime sportswriter. He graduated from Washington High School, where he played football and baseball and developed a lifelong love of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. After graduating from St. Cloud State University, he returned to Sioux Falls and began a long career as an amateur baseball and sports reporter. Email Matt at [email protected].