Tuesday Tidbits
It’s too bad there isn’t much going on this week on my beat:
The South Dakota State wrestling team beat Indiana 19-18 on Saturday in the dual debut of coach Chris Bono, ending an 0-18 streak against BCS schools since moving to the NCAA Division I level. What’s more, the Jacks did so with a lineup consisting of just two upperclassmen plus three sophomore and five freshmen.
SDSU (2-1) heads to Lincoln this weekend to take on the Huskers and North Carolina.
Wednesday is the start of the fall signing period, and the SDSU basketball teams are expected to sign a combined seven players. But wrestling will make a bigger splash, by comparison, with its eight expected signings. Amateur Wrestling News currently has the Jacks with the 10th best class, a group led by one five-star recruit and two four-star recruits.
More on all of this in the Thursday edition.
SDSU has placed bids to host multiple rounds in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs should it qualify, according to athletic director Justin Sell. The bids were due Monday with the minimum number being $30,000.
Sell didn’t disclose how much the Jacks bid, but said that timing and weather would be considered. Some teams open on Thanksgiving weekend and the rest will start the first weekend in December.
“We’ll go as aggressive as we can,” Sell said. “I want to try to get a home game. That would be huge for us. I think our home field is a big advantage.”
There’s also some precedent in that while SDSU has never hosted an FCS playoff, it had huge fan support for the WNIT, an event that some schools look down on.
The 20-team playoff field will be announced at 12:30 p.m. Sunday on ESPNU.
The Jacks host Tennessee State tonight in men’s hoops, their undisputed best non-conference home date of the season. The Tigers return four starters from a squad that won 20 games and beat Murry State. That earned coach John Cooper a new gig at Miami of Ohio; he’s been replaced by assistant Travis Williams.
The SDSU women open the home slate Wednesday against Creighton and welcome No. 15-ranked Nebraska on Sunday afternoon. Coach Aaron Johnston said that both opponents will run spread, motion offenses, something the Jacks struggled against in a loss to Villanova.
Also, Johnston hopes that the status of senior guard Steph Paluch – who tore an ACL in the conference semifinals last season – will be determined this week. The decision to redshirt or not is in her hands, and he thinks that she’s likely to redshirt.
Terry Vandrovec also posts regular updates on his Twitter page.
