South Dakota State Buries Murray State 42-9
Murray State kicked three field goals and still managed to look like it was in a different game. South Dakota State scored five touchdowns and two field goals and cruised to a 42-9 win that moved the Jackrabbits to 6-1. Murray State is 1-5.
It was 14-0 before the first quarter ended. Josiah Johnson ran in from 9 yards out at 4:53, and Chase Mason found Grahm Goering for 18 yards with one second left in the quarter. Tyler Dorn answered with a 33-yard field goal, Tristan Alvano kicked two of his own (45 and 23 yards) and it was 20-3 in the second quarter. James Basinger made it 27-6 with a 4-yard run at 0:42, and Dorn closed the half with a 51-yarder as the clock hit zero. So 27-9 at the break, and that is where the suspense ended.
Johnson added a 3-yard score late in the third, and Jack Henry ran in the two-point try to make it 35-9. Josh Holst threw a 12-yard touchdown to Andrew Gustad with 6:28 left in the fourth. That is the whole scoring story, and Murray State never scored after halftime.
The yardage was 434 to 249 for South Dakota State, with 199 of that on the ground against 75 for Murray State. Neither team threw an interception. Each lost one fumble, so the turnover column offers no excuses. Murray State just had its yards in the wrong places: three scoring drives, all ending at the kicker.
The fantasy winner was Josiah Johnson, who ran 16 times for 92 yards and two scores. Murray State's best was Trey Firestone, who had six catches for 78 yards and no touchdown. Nine team points, all from the kicker, and still 13.8 for a receiver. It is a living.