FARGO -- The cast of running backs at South Dakota State has been like a powerful relay team, starting a decade ago with Josh Ranek.
He passed the baton to Anthony Watson, who then handed it off to Cory Koenig, and then to Kyle Minett. So far this year, the Jacks have had trouble maintaining that pace, a question head coach John Stiegelmeier said he's been asked repeatedly in the last few weeks.
"We've talked about that a lot as a staff," the 15th-year head coach said, who then pointed to two factors: the quality defensive fronts the Jacks have faced this season, and a lack of production by his own offensive line.
"I'm somewhat embarrassed to say this, but we may have overestimated the maturity and ability of our offensive line," Stiegelmeier said. "At times, the scheme looks good, but we're not getting it done. Anytime you run the ball, the fat guys need to do the job."
Starting running back Tyrel Kool is averaging 3.1 yards per carry heading into Saturday's clash against North Dakota State. That figure has been significantly higher in the last three NDSU-SDSU games in Brookings -- all won by the Jackrabbits.
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In 2002, Walter Dosh had 17 carries for 145 yards, an average of 8.5 per attempt. In 2007, Koenig had 22 attempts for 131 yards and two years ago, Minett had 164 yards on 34 attempts. The average team rushing attempt for the Jackrabbits in those three games was 7.0, 4.7 and 4.5.
Ranek (1997-01), Minett (2007-10), Watson (2003-06) and Koenig (2004-07) are currently 1-2-3-6 on the SDSU all-time career rushing chart. It appears the Jacks are still looking for the next guy to take over.
"Last year they had that two-back, one tight end set, and they pounded the ball with Minett," said NDSU sophomore safety Colten Heagle. "This year, they've been pass-happy pretty much the whole year. It will definitely be a different test against the Jackrabbits this year."
The statistics tell the same story. SDSU's 81.1 yards per game ranks last in team rushing in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, but SDSU also leads the league in passing offense at 279.1 yards a game.
"They air it out more than they used to," said NDSU head coach Craig Bohl. "Their line is very capable of protecting the quarterback, I think they have a great short control passing game and they're comfortable with that. They still have the ability to run. Kool is a pretty skilled player."
Kolpack is a sports writer for The Forum
