South Dakota State

7-2

Key stats

Key stats · 2026 · FBS rank

Each bar is the team’s national rank as a percentile. A longer bar is better, for defense too.

Points/game18th of 138
36.4
Pts allowed/game15th of 138
16.3
All 6 stats
Other
Pass rate, 1st downs1st of 8
56.4%56.4%
2nd-half EPA/play0.20.0/gm
Red zone pass rate
44.4%44.4%

FBS rankings · 2026 season · all stats vs 136 FBS programs

Player stats

Player stats · 2026 season

No player stats logged for this program yet — stats appear once the season is underway.

Biggest plays from South Dakota State’s games

Official highlights with our numbers: the plays that moved the chance to win most in South Dakota State’s games this season, whoever made them.

  1. Q4, 8:16 · South Dakota State down 8Josiah Johnson runs 2 yards for a touchdownSouth Dakota State at Northwestern, week 1Q4, 8:16 · South Dakota State 18, Northwestern 20South Dakota State answered right backSouth Dakota State answered right backJ.Johnson rush middle for 2 yards gain to the NU00 touchdown C.Mason pass attempt failed J.Smith pass attempt failedWatch from this playCFB ON FOX
  2. Q1, 11:42 · Northwestern tiedAidan Chiles finds Alex Honig for an 11-yard touchdownSouth Dakota State at Northwestern, week 1Q1, 11:42 · Northwestern 7, South Dakota State 0Northwestern opened the scoringNorthwestern opened the scoringA.Chiles pass complete short middle to A.Honig caught at SDSU00, for 11 yards to the SDSU00 touchdown, 1ST DOWN, kick goodWatch from this playCFB ON FOX
  3. Q1, 6:03 · South Dakota State down 7Damon Walters intercepts Chase MasonSouth Dakota State at Northwestern, week 1Q1, 6:03 · South Dakota State 0, Northwestern 7▼2%South Dakota State’s chance to win, 7% to 5%▼2%South Dakota State’s chance to win, 7% to 5%C.Mason pass intercepted by D.Walters at SDSU50 D.Walters return 4 yards to the SDSU46 (J.Smith)Watch from this playCFB ON FOX
  4. Q1, 13:06 · South Dakota State tiedBraydon Brus sacks Chase Mason for a 1-yard lossSouth Dakota State at Northwestern, week 1Q1, 13:06 · South Dakota State 0, Northwestern 00-0score after the play0-0score after the playC.Mason sacked for loss of 1 yard to the SDSU47 (B.Brus)Watch from this playCFB ON FOX
  5. Q3, 7:13 · Northwestern up 1Caleb Komolafe runs 7 yards for a touchdownSouth Dakota State at Northwestern, week 1Q3, 7:13 · Northwestern 17, South Dakota State 9Northwestern answered right backNorthwestern answered right backC.Komolafe rush middle for 7 yards gain to the SDSU00 touchdown, kick goodWatch from this playCFB ON FOX
  6. Q4, 1:15 · Northwestern up 9Joseph Himon II runs 80 yards for a touchdownSouth Dakota State at Northwestern, week 1Q4, 1:15 · Northwestern 34, South Dakota State 188080-yard touchdown run8080-yard touchdown run80-yard touchdown runJ.Himon II rush left for 80 yards gain to the SDSU00 touchdown, 1ST DOWN, kick goodWatch from this playCFB ON FOX

All 7 plays from South Dakota State’s games

How scary each game got

South Dakota State lost 2 of 9 games, none after a real lead; the closest win was at Illinois State, down to 32%

50%L1W1W2W3W4W5L7W8W9

Tap a game for its score and win chances.

Each bar runs from the lowest to the highest chance our model gave South Dakota State during that game; the thick mark is where it started. Numbers are the game week.

Home-field advantage · 2018–present · FBS opponents

South Dakota State is worth +6.3 points more at home than on the road.

Top third of FBS, 86th percentile of 133 programs

75% at home, 47% away against FBS opponents since 2018 (6-2 home, 7-8 away). Interval ±9.1.

95% intervalmodel 2.3 · books ~3Weakest home edge in FBSStrongest
95% intervalmodel 2.3 · books ~3Weakest home edge in FBSStrongest
The stadium and how the home edge is measured

Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge. The books use about 3. Per-team versions were tested and did not hold up (why). Against the closing line, South Dakota State has beaten the number by −0.7 more at home than away over 60 games. That is inside the ±7.2 that many games can resolve, so the results cannot tell this stadium from the flat number. That is the honest reading of nearly every FBS stadium.

Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium seats 19,340 and has averaged 86% full (16,726, 21 games reported). Visitors cover a median 603 miles to get here (2018-present).

Edge = half the gap between average home margin and average road margin, FBS opponents only, non-neutral games since 2018; the interval is 95%. Market line: closing spread, seasons with lines on file. Trip length is straight-line miles from the visiting team's campus to the venue, measured across all 62 home games since 2018. No national trip rank shown: the ranked field is FBS venues only and leaves out the service academies and venues with too few measured games.

Home6-2Away7-8Edge+6.3 ±9.1Visitor trip603 mi

More in this tab

Scheme claimsFive specific, testable claims about how this team plays.

How much of South Dakota State’s number is the schedule?

Raw EPA/play through week 10 is 0.28; adjusted for opponent strength, it's 0.09. The widest gap came in week 2: 0.46 raw vs. 0.09 adjusted.

0.510.270.03Wk 2Wk 6Wk 10Raw EPA/playOpponent-adjusted
0.510.270.03Wk 2Wk 6Wk 10RawAdjusted
Source CFB Zeitgeist · season-to-date, opponent-adjusted model
Havoc & trenchesDefense havoc rate 0.187, 81th percentile

Disruption, run-blocking, and down-and-distance efficiency.

Havoc rate (D) 0.187
81st
Havoc allowed (O) 0.106
93rd
Front-seven havoc (D) 0.113
74th
Secondary havoc (D) 0.074
80th
Stuff rate (D) 0.229
79th
Stuff rate allowed (O) 0.126
97th
Line yards (O) 3.552
98th
Line yards allowed (D) 2.549
86th
Standard-downs success (O) 0.538
89th
Standard-downs success allowed (D) 0.432
68th
Passing-downs success (O) 0.308
45th
Passing-downs success allowed (D) 0.227
94th
Screened 12 claims, 12 survived · 2026 season, FBS only, min. 3 games with data this season
Comparable teamsPrograms built like this one — tier, prestige band, kind of fanbase, roster size. Not a stat match.

Most similar programs · South Dakota State

Reads like

Matched on how the programs are built — tier, prestige band, kind of fanbase, conference, voice and roster size — not on this season's stats. A calibration, not a prediction.

This page may include content derived from public news sources, social media, and fan communities. We relay these sources as-is — we are not reporting them. Sources may be summarized or quoted imperfectly; for anything that matters, go look at the original source directly. The original source may also be wrong. Text written by our model says so in a line beneath it, and it can get facts wrong. All analysis is editorial opinion, not professional reporting. Data sources · About this site