.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
South Dakota knocks off South Dakota State 24-21
VERMILLION, S.D. (AP) — Austin Simmons passed for two touchdowns, ran for another and South Dakota upset rival South Dakota State 24-21 on Saturday.
It is the seventh straight season the Coyotes knocked off a ranked team, having entered the game 0-3 against Top 25 FCS teams this season.
Simmons was 20 for 32 for 252 yards, moving him past Wesley Beschorner for second on the all-time South Dakota list. Adding in 47 yards rushing on the game, he surpassed 1,000 for his career. Jack Cochrane led the defense with 11 tackles, giving him 105 for the season.
The fifth-ranked Jackrabbits led 7-0 in the first quarter and 14-10 early in the third but couldn’t hold on. Simmons’ 2-yard run put South Dakota (5-7, 4-4 Missouri Valley Conference) up 17-14 and followed that up with a 21-yard touchdown pass for a 24-14 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Keaton Heide’s second touchdown pass pulled the Jackrabbits within a field goal early in the fourth quarter but their last three drives ended with a fumble, a fourth-down failure and a fumble on a trick play in the final minute.
South Dakota State (8-4, 5-3) entered the game in a four-way tie for second place behind North Dakota State but only Northern Iowa won its finale. Illinois State and Southern Illinois also lost.
