Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Close not good enough for SDSU in loss at No. 14 TCU
Matt Zimmer, mzimmer@argusleader.com
FORT WORTH, Tex. – When the South Dakota State football players got on the bus for the airport late Saturday night, they turned on their phones to find them overflowing with tweets, texts and other messages, congratulating them for a fine effort. They scanned their timelines to find fans and media from across the nation talking about their upset bid against Texas Christian, expressing surprise and admiration for the poise and talent of the FCS school from a small South Dakota town.
It didn’t mean much to them.
The Jackrabbits came to Texas to win a football game. That a win would be one of the biggest upsets in college football history (they were 37-point underdogs) did not concern them. When they fell short in a 59-41 loss to the Horned Frogs, a Big 12 power with national championship aspirations at the highest level of college football, all they felt was spectacular disappointment. An Amon G. Carter Stadium crowd of 43,450 felt nothing but relief.
“Everyone in America was saying the Jackrabbits didn’t stand a chance,†said coach John Stiegelmeier, bristling as he always does to suggestions of taking pride in a loss. “There were 66 guys in our locker room who felt we did, and they came out and played that way.â€