2017 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team

The 2017 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 21st-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 11–3 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, tying for second place in the MVFC. South Dakota State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where, after a first-round bye, the Jackrabbits defeated Northern Iowa in the second round and New Hampshire in the quarterfinals before losing to James Madison in the semifinals.^[1] The team played home games on campus at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.

2017 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football
NCAA Division I Semifinal, L 16–51 at James Madison
Conference	Missouri Valley Football Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 3
FCS Coaches	No. 4
Record	11–3 (6–2 MVFC)
Head coach	John Stiegelmeier (21st season)
Offensive coordinator	Eric Eidsness (12th season)
Defensive coordinator	Clint Brown (9th season)
Home stadium	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
Seasons ← 2016 2018 →

2017 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 North Dakota State $^		7	–	1					14	–	1
No. 3 South Dakota State ^		6	–	2					11	–	3
No. 19 Northern Iowa ^		6	–	2					8	–	5
No. 13 Western Illinois ^		5	–	3					8	–	4
No. 15 South Dakota ^		4	–	4					8	–	5
Illinois State		4	–	4					6	–	5
Youngstown State		4	–	4					6	–	5
Southern Illinois		2	–	6					4	–	7
Missouri State		2	–	6					3	–	8
Indiana State		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 31	7:00 p.m.	Duquesne*	No. 4	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD	ESPN3	W 51–13	12,218
September 9	7:00 p.m.	at Montana State*	No. 4	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	Pluto TV	W 31–27	19,817
September 16	6:00 p.m.	Drake*	No. 4	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD	ESPN3	W 51–10	15,806
September 30	7:00 p.m.	at No. 6 Youngstown State	No. 4	Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, OH	ESPN3	L 7–19	17,450
October 7	6:00 p.m.	Southern Illinois	No. 8	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD	ESPN3	W 49–14	12,891
October 14	2:00 p.m.	Northern Iowa	No. 7	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD	ESPN3	L 18–38	14,347
October 21	2:00 p.m.	at Missouri State	No. 13	Robert W. Plaster Stadium Springfield, MO	ESPN3	W 62–30	6,253
October 28	1:00 p.m.	at No. 12 Western Illinois	No. 11	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	ESPN3	W 52–24	2,247
November 4	2:00 p.m.	No. 2 North Dakota State	No. 10	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD (Dakota Marker)	ESPN3	W 33–21	18,130
November 11	2:00 p.m.	No. 17 Illinois State	No. 6	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD	ESPN3	W 27–24 OT	9,458
November 18	2:00 p.m.	at No. 15 South Dakota	No. 6	DakotaDome Vermillion, SD (rivalry)	ESPN3	W 31–28	10,147
December 2	2:00 p.m.	No. 20 Northern Iowa*	No. 6	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD (NCAA Division Second Round)	ESPN3	W 37–22	7,815	[2][3]
December 9	2:00 p.m.	No. 21 New Hampshire*	No. 6	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal)	ESPN3	W 56–14	5,583	[4]
December 16	6:00 p.m.	at No. 1 James Madison*	No. 6	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA (NCAA Division I Semifinal)	ESPNU	L 16–51	16,528	[5]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[6][7]

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	4 (2)	4 (1)	4 (1)	4 (1)	4 (1)	8	7	13	11	10	6	6	6	3
Coaches	6 (1)	4	4	4	4	9	7	13	8–T	8	5	5	6	4

Jackrabbits drafted

Draft Year	Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL Team
2018	Dallas Goedert	TE	2	49	Philadelphia Eagles