SDSU picked to win MVFC

SIOUX FALLS – South Dakota State was picked first in the Missouri Valley Football Conference Preseason Poll on Tuesday morning.

The Jackrabbits 28 of the 36 first-place votes and 312 points total. They finished ahead of Illinois State who received three first-place votes. Youngstown State was third and North Dakota and South Dakota were fourth and fifth, respectively. UND and USD each received two first-place votes and Southern Illinois earned a first-place vote in sixth place.

The MVFC will be without one of its flagship members this season as North Dakota State moved up to the FBS. The Bison won 12 MVFC titles, including back-to-back titles in their final two years in the conference.

SDSU earned at least a share of the title from 2022-2024, but the Jackrabbits struggled in 2025, going 9-5 overall and 4-4 in conference play. Jackrabbit head coach Dan Jackson said his team has extra motivation to get back to the top of not only the conference but the top of the FCS in 2026.

“There’s a chip on these guys' shoulders because we didn’t accomplish what we needed to [last season] on the football field,” Jackson said. “But the progress we made last year was, we’re more connected than ever. The brotherhood stayed in place and grew and strengthened, and the foundation of the program was built that way. It showed up on a lot of Saturday’s [last year], but not enough. 

“[On the] football [field], we lacked identity. We weren't able to run the ball, stop the run, and play good enough on special teams. They knew that that was coming. So now, our mission this year is to take all the foundation that was laid a year ago, and now look like Jackrabbit football every time we play on Saturdays, which I'm confident we will.”

Last year was Jackson’s first year as head coach in Brookings. There was a learning curve for him and his staff in year one and he said they feel a lot more confident as they head into year two.

“It feels a lot different [going into this season],” Jackson said. “… It starts with the coaching staff being on the same page, and we have a lot of talented individual coaches on our staff, but not many of them had worked together before. So now, they have a better understanding of how I work, how they work, and the feedback that they’re providing players is better. 

“A year ago, they were learning the plays and then teaching it to the players 10 minutes later. Whereas now we're able to function at a higher level as a coaching staff, which then trickles into the players and their understanding and execution and comfortability with things definitely has been a huge growth area for us.”

The MVFC Preseason Players to Watch list also came out on Tuesday morning and the Jackrabbits had 19 players on the list. The offensive players included quarterback Chase Mason, running back Ramon McKinney Jr., wide receivers Graham Goering and Lofton O’Groske and offensive linemen Quinten Christensen and Shane Willenbring.

The defensive players on the list were defensive linemen Logan Green, Reis Kirschenman, Dawson Ripperda, Jace Sifore and Carter Sitzman, linebackers Cullen McShane and Chase Van Tol and defensive backs Ife Current and Noah St-Juste.

The special teams selections included punter Max Pelham and return specialist Jack Smith.

Green is one of 18 seniors on SDSU’s roster and he said that group is excited at a chance for redemption in 2026.

“Absolutely [we have extra motivation this year]. The goal wasn’t accomplished last year and we’ve been working our butts off to get back to where we want to be and that takes a lot of effort and fine tuning. It’s a lot of little details, but this senior class is ready to rock,” Green said.

The Jackrabbits will begin fall camp two weeks from Wednesday. They will then kick off the regular season a month after that when they take on Stetson at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium on Aug. 29 at 6 p.m.