Getty South Dakota State Jackrabbits running back Pierre Strong.
The Southern Illinois Salukis will host the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in Carbondale, IL, on Saturday in the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s spring season, which was prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The game (1 p.m. ET start time) won’t be on TV, but anyone in the US can watch South Dakota State vs Southern Illinois football live on ESPN+ right here:
ESPN+ will have coverage of all Missouri Valley, OVC, Southern and Southland football games this spring, as well as live college basketball, UFC, international soccer, Australian Open tennis, dozens of other live sports, every 30-for-30 documentary, and additional original content (both video and written) all for $5.99 per month.
Or, if you also want Disney+ and Hulu, you can get all three for $12.99 per month, which works out to about 31 percent savings:
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Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch South Dakota State vs Southern Illinois live on the ESPN app on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch on your computer via ESPN.com.
South Dakota State vs Southern Illinois Preview
Each squad is coming off a narrow victory decided by a kick.
South Dakota State kicker Cole Frahm punched a 29-yard field goal through with 31 seconds remaining to give his side a 19-17 victory over the Youngstown State Penguins a week ago.
The Jackrabbits went up 10-0 in the first quarter and led 16-7 when the final period began.
“I just went through my normal progressions,” Frahm said, according to the Argus Leader. “Nothing really changes, even on a pressure kick like that. Trust the snap and know there’s gonna be protection up front. I try to treat it like a normal kick, even though there’s a little more on it.”
Jackrabbits quarterback Mark Gronowski completed 12 of 28 passes for 158 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Tight end Zach Heins made a pair of grabs for 55 yards; both came on SDSU’s game-winning 67-yard drive.
“We just went out and executed our game plan and put the trust in each other to go out there and win a game,” Heins said of the drive, per the Argus Leader.
The Jackrabbits improved to 3-1 on the season, with all of their games coming in MVFC play. They suffered their only defeat at the hands of the 4-0 North Dakota Fighting Hawks.
“Any victory in the Valley, you cherish it however you get it,” Jackrabbits head coach Jack Stiegelmeier said, per the Argus Leader. “Give credit to Youngstown State and their staff. They know what their strengths are and they used them and forced us to have to win it at the end of the game.”
The Salukis also improved to 3-1 in the conference last week, besting the North Iowa Panthers 17-16. They trailed 13-0 at the midway break and benefitted from a Panthers missed 30-yard field goal with seconds remaining.
SIU quarterback Nic Baker suffered a foot injury in the first half and gave way to Stone Labanowitz, who went 11-of-15 for 91 yards and a score. Baker opened the spring season as the team’s second-string QB behind Kare’ Lyles, who suffered broken ribs in the opener, a loss to North Dakota.
“It starts with their approach,” head coach Nick Hill said of the Salukis’ depth at quarterback, according to ChicagoNow. “It’s up to them as individuals to buy into that.”
Lyles suited up for the game against the Panthers, but hasn’t played in over a month. According to ChicagoNow, Hill said during his weekly press conference that he wasn’t sure who’d start under center against the Jackrabbits.