BROOKINGS, S.D. – Drake football returned to the gridiron on Saturday for a tough road test at the second ranked South Dakota State Jackrabbits. The Bulldogs battled with one of the perennial FCS powers but could not ultimately match SDSU as the Jackrabbits earned a 37-21 result.

The visiting Bulldogs won the coin toss and elected to receive, a decision that proved wise on their first drive. Veteran quarterback Xavier Washington, who made his first collegiate start for Drake, orchestrated a five-play, 75-yard drive culminating in a 31-yard throw-and-catch to Hank Foley.
 
The Bulldogs then stymied South Dakota State's opening possession by turning the Jackrabbits (3-0) over on downs to maintain their 7-0 advantage and regain the rock.
 
The second ranked Jackrabbits promptly flipped the first quarter momentum back in their direction, forcing two consecutive Bulldog punts. SDSU capitalized on both empty Drake (1-1) possessions with an Alex Bullock receiving score and Julius Loughridge rushing touchdown to jump out to a 14-7 lead.
 
South Dakota State looked to add to their early advantage after another Drake punt, but the Bulldog defense stood tall and forced another turnover on downs. Drake's drive was paused by the first quarter break, but the Bulldogs began the second stanza with a 41-yard field goal off the right foot of Harry Balke to make it 14-10 in favor of the Jackrabbits.
 
SDSU was able to put together another scoring drive and keep the Bulldogs off the board as freshman Logan Inagawa, who entered under center for Drake after Washington suffered an injury, tried lead the Dogs to a score as the half wound to a close. The Jackrabbits led 21-10 at the break.
 
South Dakota State picked up where it left off in to start the second half ripping off an eight-play, 65-yard touchdown trip to extend the lead to 28-10.
 
Inagawa and the Bulldogs fought right back putting together a scoring drive of their own. The freshman QB capped a seven-play, 75-yard trek with a three-yard rush for six, his first collegiate touchdown. The Bulldogs then converted a two-point try on a dump off pass to freshman tailback Nick Herman to cut the SDSU lead to 10, but the Jackrabbits answered with a field goal to make it 31-18. That score held at the end of the third period.
 
SDSU put up another touchdown midway through the fourth quarter to add some insurance over the Bulldogs. The Jackrabbits took their turn trying a two-pointer but failed, making it 37-18. Drake added the final scoring effort in the waning moments with a Balke field goal to reach the final score of 37-21.
 
"There's definitely some plays we'll want back but certainly not for a lack of effort," Drake head coach Joe Woodley said. "I don't anticipate seeing many of those [low effort] plays on the film, and that's all you can ask for. We just have to take out what we can, build on it, and come back up here for another challenge at South Dakota."
 
Inagawa had a notable Drake debut with 140 passing yards on 15-of-25 throwing along with 75 rushing yards on 14 carries for a score. Starting quarterback Washington went 3-for-4 for 34 yards and a touchdown before exiting due to injury.
 
Elsewhere on offense, Jaden Meizinger, added 32 rushing yards of his own while Herman posted 19. Hank Foley again led the Drake receiving corps with three snags for 54 yards and a touchdown.
 
Defensively, Benjamin Wilson made a career-high 10 tackles including a half tackle for loss. Sean Allison followed with eight stops and 1.5 TFL while J.R. Flood added seven.
 
As a team, South Dakota State outgained Drake 436-295 but also committed seven penalties to the Bulldogs' three. The Jackrabbits also had a narrow advantage in time of possession, 32:30 to 27:30. Drake scored on both of its trips inside the redzone.
 
The Bulldogs will be back in action next weekend when they return to the Mount Rushmore State for a date with South Dakota. Drake and the Coyotes will kick things off at 1 p.m. in Vermillion.