Titans To Face Division I South Dakota State University

The UW-Oshkosh football team plays its third straight scholarship-granting program when it battles South Dakota State University, an NCAA Division I Football Championship Series (FCS) member, on Saturday (Sept. 20) in Brookings, S.D. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.

The last time UW-Oshkosh played such a highly affiliated opponent was Eastern Kentucky University in 1975. The Titans (0-2), who will be playing in the state of South Dakota for the first time, lost at home to NAIA programs the first two weeks.

South Dakota State University (2-1), which is ranked 10th in the latest FCS poll, lost its season opener to the University of Missouri, a Football Bowl Subdivision member from the Southeastern Conference, before defeating FCS opponents the past two weeks.

The Titans and Jackrabbits will be playing in South Dakota State University's 48th Annual Beef Bowl, a major fund-raising event that has drawn more than 10,000 attendees each of the last nine seasons and features a live steer auction at halftime.

UW-Oshkosh entered 2014 on its best three-year run in school history, posting a 28-6 record from 2011-13 while winning the 2012 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title and reaching the 2012 NCAA Division III semifinals. South Dakota State University, which played its first game in 1889, made the second level of the FCS playoffs the last two seasons.

UW-Oshkosh lost its 120th season opener, 27-19, to Robert Morris University (Ill.) on Sept. 6. The Titans trailed 24-3 at halftime, but scored 16 unanswered points in the third quarter and were within one possession of tying the score or taking the lead the entire fourth quarter.

Last Saturday (Sept. 13), the Titans were defeated, 24-20, on a last-second, 25-yard touchdown pass by Marian University (Ind.), the 2012 NAIA champion. UW-Oshkosh turned a 17-10 fourth-quarter deficit into a 20-17 lead with 3:22 remaining, but Marian University drove 75 yards in 44 seconds and scored the decisive touchdown with one second left.

UW-Oshkosh's Dylann Rauch has completed 24-of-46 passes for 295 yards with two touchdowns during his first two career starts. Ethan Steinhoff leads the UW-Oshkosh ground attack with 23 carries for 69 yards and one touchdown. Zach Kasuboski has a team highs with seven receptions, 102 receiving yards and one touchdown catch.

Branden Lloyd leads the UW-Oshkosh defense with 18 tackles, including 13 solo and 2.5 for loss. Kevin MacCudden has registered two of the Titans' four turnovers with one fumble recovery and one interception. John Eagan has collected 10 tackles and one interception. Corey Sigler has recorded six tackles and one fumble recovery. The Titans have received sacks from Reese Dziedzic, Cody Huemmer, Cameron Brown, Tony Guagliardo and Cris Tillman.

South Dakota State University lost its season opener, 38-18, at the University of Missouri on Aug. 30. The Jackrabbits, who tied the score at 7-7 on a 75-yard touchdown run just over one minute into the game, were outgained by the Tigers by just 28 yards (393-365), and won the time of possession 35:24 to 24:36. The Jackrabbits couldn't overcome turnovers, which the Tigers turned into 20 points.

South Dakota State University has played yearly road games at FBS programs since 2008. The Jackrabbits played at the University of Nebraska in 2013 (50-29 loss), University of Kansas in 2012 (31-17 loss) and the University of Illinois in 2011 (56-3 loss). South Dakota State University travels to the University of Kansas next year and will play at Texas Christian University in 2016.

The Jackrabbits defeated California Polytechnic State University, 44-18, in their home opener on Sept. 6. Leading 16-12 at the half, South Dakota State University got a touchdown pass and three rushing touchdowns in the second half to pull away.

Last Saturday, South Dakota State University won, 26-6, at Southern Utah University. The Jackrabbits led 24-0 after the third quarter and held a 392-263 advantage in total yards.

UW-Oshkosh faced NAIA All-America running backs -- Robert Morris University's Lamont Wims and Marian University's Tevin Lake - in its first two games and will face an FSC All-America running back on Saturday Wims logged 45 carries for 207 yards and one touchdown in the opener, while the Titans limited Lake to 102 yards and one touchdown on 31 carries last Saturday.

The Jackrabbits are led by preseason FCS All-America running back Zach Zenner, who became the second player in FCS history to rush for 2,000 yards twice in his career after logging 2,044 rushing yards in 2012 and 2,015 in 2013. Zenner has topped 100 rushing yards 24 times and scored 41 touchdowns in his last 30 games. This season, Zenner has 72 carries for 436 yards and three touchdowns.

South Dakota State University's Zach Lujan has completed 46-of-72 passes for 585 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions. Jason Schneider, a 2013 all-conference first-team player, is tied for the Jackrabbit lead with 11 catches to go along with 131 yards and one touchdown. Jake Weineke has 11 receptions for a team-high 212 yards and two touchdowns.

T.J. Lally leads the South Dakota State University defense with 20 tackles, including 14 solo. The Jackrabbits have recorded five sacks and three interceptions on the season.

In his 18th season, South Dakota State University's John Stiegelmeier (113-82 record) needs just one victory to become the winningest coach in program history. UW-Oshkosh head coach Pat Cerroni has a 47-28 record during his eight seasons leading the Titans.

Several Jackrabbits have played in the NFL, including current Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri and former Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Adam Timmerman.

The Titans have had four former NFL players, with the most recent being Hal Robl with the Chicago Cardinals and Eber Simpson with the St. Louis All-Stars in 1923.