Welcome to the Missouri Valley Football Conference, folks–where your reward for a monumental win over a rival is another monumental challenge a few days later.
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This is what South Dakota State football is dealing with this week. The Jackrabbits pulled off the big win over North Dakota State–its first over the Bison since 2009–then immediately pivoted to this weekend's showdown at home against a very dangerous Youngstown State team. 
One of the biggest reasons the Jacks are 3-0 in a brutal conference is the play of tight end Dallas Goedert and wide receiver Jake Wieneke. Goedert is not your average, every-day tight end who is really a sixth offensive lineman, catching a pass every other Lunar Eclipse. Goedert has the ability to leap closer to that moon than most, and he's already making a name for himself as the one-hand catch bandit.
His opponents are sick of making the highlight reel for all the wrong reasons. Jacks fans love it.
Lined up opposite of Goedert–a former walk-on, by the way–is one of his biggest fans, Wieneke. Ask TCU who Wieneke is. The Horned Frogs would remember him as the blur they saw in week one. And North Dakota State will remember him also as the guy who caught the game-winning touchdown this past weekend. Yet Wieneke points the finger at Goedert, essentially saying, 'No, really … you need to watch him. You never know what's going to happen.'
"He's such a beast," Wieneke told HERO Sports. "He's a great friend of mine and his locker's next to me, and we hit workouts at the same time. He's so fun to watch every day at practice, making those one-handed catches. And he can't be tackled."
Dallas Goedert has 45 receptions for 711 yards and nine scores — several of the one-handed variety (SDSU Athletics)
Not a bad endorsement from a receiver who has been shredding FCS defenses for three years now. Notice we said three, not four–both Wieneke and Goedert have a year and a half left, and talented true sophomore quarterback Taryn Christion–the delivery man–has 2.5 years left. Oh, and the top two rushers will be back. And the leading tackler is a freshman (Christian Rozebloom), and six of the seven top tacklers will return next year, as well as all-conference offensive lineman Jacob Ohnesorge and several other key contributors. Seeing any patterns here?
But let's not get too sidetracked about the future … the present is daunting with an extremely gifted Youngstown State team this weekend. But you see the trend here.
"We had confidence coming into the year," Christion told HERO Sports. "We felt we could score some points, coming in. We know we have weapons and our O-line would play great. We know that teams are going to try to shut (the top two pass targets) down. But usually if I'm putting it up there to one of them, there's a great chance they're going to come down with it. There's just so many things we can do with the ball."
RELATED: Talking FCS football nationwide on The BrakeDown with Keith Brake of 1660 AM in Fargo, N.D.
The good news … even if it's only slightly good news in the MVFC … is that if SDSU comes away from this weekend's home game with the Penguins as victors, the Jackrabbits will have conquered the three toughest MVFC teams (overall record-wise) and will finish with four opponents who are a combined 5-8 in the conference. That doesn't mean it is easy, but knocking off the other top three is certainly going to impress the right people.
"The Missouri Valley is a dogfight every week," Goedert told HERO Sports. "There's not a game on this schedule that you can say is easy. We go to NDSU and beat them, but now we get Youngstown with the best defense we'll face in the Missouri Valley."
Jake Wieneke has caught 39 passes for 703 yards and 11 TDs this season. Nearly a third of his receptions have resulted in points (SDSU Athletics)
At least SDSU got a chance to celebrate with the time-honored Dakota Marker last weekend. South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard accepted the Dakota Marker from North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple on behalf of the Mount Rushmore State. Oh, and the game-winning touchdown with just moments left? It happened right at the enclave of SDSU football fans at the FargoDome. So the players were among friends.
"It was unbelievable because they (NDSU) have really good fans," Goedert said. "Playing in that dome is a fun experience every time. They get amped up and yell at you, and when Jake caught that ball with one second left, first I think I heard boos like they were hoping for a penalty. Then it seemed like it got quiet and people just stood up and made their way out of the stadium."
Now on to the Penguins.
