South Dakota
South Dakota State pitcher Tori Kniesche’s dominance by the numbers
![South Dakota State pitcher Tori Kniesche’s dominance by the numbers South Dakota State pitcher Tori Kniesche’s dominance by the numbers](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2022/05/18/PSIF/0430e782-fbf3-4d69-bbc7-d4da968418cd-Kniesche_No_Hitter_4_29_22.jpg?width=660&height=372&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
When South Dakota State misplaced the primary recreation of final Sunday’s Summit League event championship, forcing a winner-take-all deciding recreation, the top-seeded and closely favored Jackrabbits weren’t as nervous as one would possibly anticipate.
Sure, they’d simply been shutout by Omaha pitcher Kamryn Meyer, who was set to take the circle once more within the second recreation, and had been all of a sudden a loss away from seeing their bid for consecutive NCAA event appearances finish abruptly. However Tori Kniesche was pitching. That meant the Jacks knew they’d be practically unbeatable.
Certain sufficient, the 5-foot-10 sophomore went out and carved a masterpiece, hanging out 16 Mavericks on the way in which to a one-hit shutout that clinched SDSU’s second straight Summit League championship and journey to the NCAA event – the primary two of every in program historical past.
SDSU sports activities:South Dakota State wins Summit League softball title, will tackle Michigan
It was simply the newest in what’s been a outstanding season for Kniesche, one that’s solely getting higher because the climate warms up and the season winds down.
You might argue she’s not even one of the best pitcher on her group – Grace Glanzer was simply named Summit League pitcher of the yr (Kniesche gained it final yr), and is closing in on a lot of SDSU’s profession pitching data. Glanzer takes a 20-5 file and 1.78 ERA into this weekend’s regional in Orlando, the place the Jacks will face Michigan on Friday. However no person is hotter than Kniesche proper now.
She heads to Florida ranked second within the nation in strikeouts per inning and fifth in shutouts, carrying a team-best 1.45 ERA, 18-5 file and 253 strikeouts, and he or she’s been particularly dominant of late.
SDSU sports activities:Carrillo sisters’ highway to SDSU began with a recruiting video cameo. Now they’re main Jacks into Summit event.
“Simply attacking the zone has actually helped,” Kniesche mentioned when requested what’s been the important thing to her current dominance. “Simply stress-free and trusting my offense and understanding that my protection additionally has my again has helped, and simply believing in myself.”
Right here’s a better take a look at all that Kniesche has completed this season and down the stretch as SDSU prepares to tackle the Wolverines.
South Dakota State softball’s Tori Kniesche by the numbers
► She’s thrown both a no-hitter or one-hitter in every of her final 5 begins – all shutouts.
There was a aid look in opposition to NDSU blended in there the place Kniesche gave up a run, however the final 5 instances she’s been within the circle to start out the sport, the opposing batters would possibly as nicely have been swinging a guitar on the plate. Again-to-back no-hitters in opposition to St. Thomas, a one-hit shutout of UND within the last sequence of the common season, and a pair of one-hitters within the convention event, in opposition to NDSU and Omaha.
► She’s thrown three no-hitters, together with in consecutive begins.
Kniesche has 5 profession no-hitters in two seasons at SDSU. The primary this yr got here in opposition to Western Illinois in a recreation shortened to 5 innings by run rule, then lower than a month later she threw no-no’s on consecutive days in opposition to St. Thomas.
► She’s obliterated the single-game college strikeout file.
The primary of Kniesche’s consecutive no-hitters in opposition to St. Thomas was a five-inning recreation, and he or she nonetheless managed to tie the college file for strikeouts with 13. Her no-hitter the following day wanted all seven innings, and Kniesche whiffed a whopping 20 batters, recording just one out through a ball in play. Her strikeout totals within the three begins since: 15, 10 and 16.
► She’s reached double-digits in strikeouts 15 instances. Her 253 whiffs on the season are two shy of the college file held by Allison Sempsis. Sempsis did it in 246 innings. Kniesche has labored 153 innings.
► She has a single-season school-record 10 complete-game shutouts, and has come on in aid to select up three saves.
► In her final 11 appearances, overlaying 61.2 innings, she has a 0.57 ERA.
► Vastly bettering her command has sparked her late-season surge.
Kniesche walked 18 batters in her first three begins and later walked eight in a loss to Wichita State. However she has fewer walks (37) in her final 20 outings than in her first 9 (38).
“She had fairly a couple of walks in (non-conference play),” mentioned coach Krista Wooden. “She wasn’t attacking the zone. And once you stroll individuals you get your pitch rely up so she was getting drained on the finish of video games. In the event you look again in April she’s restricted her free bases and attacked the zone and made individuals chase. If she will be able to do this, they must string two or three hits in a row collectively to attain a run.”
As dominant as Kniesche has been, it’s not a foregone conclusion she’ll be the Sport 1 starter in opposition to Michigan. Whereas she’s been the fireballing strikeout artist, Glanzer is extra of a finesse pitcher, and has been equally as profitable. And as dominant as Kniesche has been, she had a pair tough outings; in begins in opposition to Iowa State and Wichita State she gave up 15 runs in eight mixed innings (her ERA can be 0.77 with out these two outings).
Glanzer, who as soon as threw a no-hitter in opposition to Oregon State, has had barely extra success in opposition to energy convention foes.
“Since we’re so totally different it makes it actually arduous for different groups to arrange for us,” Glanzer mentioned. “They don’t know if they should put together for pace up within the zone from TK or off-speed and curves from me.”
The Jacks tackle Michigan on Friday at 2:30 p.m. Central Florida performs Villanova to observe.
If SDSU wins, they’ll play the winner of UCF/Nova at 10 a.m. Saturday. In the event that they lose to Michigan they’ll play the loser of UCF/Nova at 12:30.
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South Dakota
Videos: Gundy, Players Recap Win against South Dakota State
![Videos: Gundy, Players Recap Win against South Dakota State Videos: Gundy, Players Recap Win against South Dakota State](https://pistolsfiringblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/53962121679_afc402ad55_k-1000x600.jpg)
STILLWATER — The Oklahoma State football team beat South Dakota State 44-20 on Saturday to start the season 1-0. After the game, Mike Gundy, Ollie Gordon, Alan Bowman, De’Zhaun Stribling, Collin Oliver, Korie Black and Trey Rucker met with reporters to recap the game.
South Dakota
South Dakota State vs. No. 17 Oklahoma State live stream (8/31/24): Watch college football, Week 1 online
![South Dakota State vs. No. 17 Oklahoma State live stream (8/31/24): Watch college football, Week 1 online South Dakota State vs. No. 17 Oklahoma State live stream (8/31/24): Watch college football, Week 1 online](https://www.nj.com/resizer/v2/P2NH7TDAORCA3K2CFKZ3D37LHE.jpg?auth=27a73779c5e6defa1fa563e3ee42ddc0fe62687da0c8b6ecc5664751c4c0c4a2&width=1280&quality=90)
The South Dakota State Jackrabbits face the No. 17 Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024 (8/31/24) at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Fans can watch the game with a subscription to ESPN+.
Here’s what you need to know:
What: NCAA Football, Week 1
Who: South Dakota State vs. Oklahoma State
When: Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024 (8/31/24)
Where: Boone Pickens Stadium
Time: 2 p.m. ET
TV: N/A
Channel finder: Verizon Fios, AT&T U-verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice,Cox,DIRECTV, Dish, Hulu, fuboTV, Sling.
Live stream: ESPN+
***
Here’s a college football story from the Associated Press:
Y’all ain’t played nobody!
It might as well be college football’s slogan. Debates about strength of schedule are part of the fabric of the sport, like marching bands, cheerleaders and tailgating.
With the size of the College Football Playoff tripling in size from four teams to 12 this season — including seven at-large bids — expect the arguments over the relative difficulty of teams’ schedules to increase exponentially.
The posturing and politicking has already begun.
“This is the NFL of college football in my mind,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said during Big Ten media days. At Southeastern Conference media days, the NFL was also invoked when the topic steered to schedules.
“As coaches we want to play the best. People forget that when you’ve spent time in the NFL, every week was like that,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “So when Texas and Oklahoma came into the conference, every schedule was going to get harder.”
The debates aren’t just about which conferences are the best. With super-sized conferences of 16-18 teams, the differences in strength of schedule within leagues can be significant.
The CFP selection committee uses a strength-of-schedule rating provided by SportSource Analytics that includes components such as wins and losses, scoring differential and game location.
Balancing who you played with how you played will be harder than ever.
“There’s a weight on the committee that’s new. I want to see how the committee processes that,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said during spring meetings. “And my encouragement is that this, ‘Well, we have an undefeated team so they’re in’ is not the standard. It never was the standard. Obviously, that stirred up controversy last year.”
Toughest schedules in the Power Four
There are dozens of data-based rating systems to measure the relative strength of college football teams, and all have some type of schedule-rating component.
The AP took three systems — ESPN’s SP+, FEI and KFord Ratings — and averaged their strength of schedule rankings for all 134 Bowl Subdivision teams to determine where each Power Four team’s schedule ranks nationally (all games, not just conference games, are factored in).
Using those projections, SEC teams on average will be facing the toughest schedules this season.
The average strength-of-schedule ranking among the 16 SEC teams is 11.2, from Florida (a unanimous No. 1 among all three systems) to Missouri at 36.7.
Half the teams in the SEC have schedules with an average national ranking of 10 or better, including No. 1 Georgia at 3.7. No. 11 Missouri is the only SEC team with an average schedule-strength ranking below 25.3.
Rating the rest
The Big Ten, now including Southern California, UCLA, Oregon and Washington, is next with an average strength-of-schedule ranking of 26.9 among its 18 teams.
Purdue’s 7.7 average ranking is the highest followed by No. 23 USC at 9. Big Ten favorite No. 2 Ohio State’s average is 34. No. 3 Oregon’s is 26.7.
The ACC and Big 12 are about the same. The 17-team ACC has an average strength of schedule ranking of 49.9. The 16-team Big 12′s average ranking is 47.3.
Assessing strength of schedule
Straight up rankings can be deceiving. How to quantify the difference between facing the sixth-ranked schedule and 26th?
Brian Fremeau, the creator of FEI, does it three ways, asking three questions: How many games would an elite team lose facing a particular schedule? How many would a good team lose? How many would an average team lose?
AP used FEI’s strength of schedule ratings based on good teams in its composite rankings, since good teams are going to be the ones in the CFP race.
Based on FEI projections, the difference between playing Georgia’s schedule (rated 3.4 among the hardest in the nation) and Ohio State (34) is about one more loss for a good team against the Bulldogs’ slate. The difference between Alabama’s schedule and Big 12 favorite Utah’s is about two losses for a good team against the Tide’s.
If these schedule strength projections held — they will change throughout the season — it would then be reasonable to compare an 11-1 Utah to a 9-3 Alabama.
Reasonable to compare doesn’t necessarily mean the one with the tougher schedule should automatically be ranked higher.
“I don’t judge a team on its schedule. I judge a team on how it performs against a schedule, or my system does. And that is a little more of a nuanced take then, ‘Well, we played a tougher set of opponents than you did, therefore, we’re better,’” Fremeau said. “There’s a bit of a balancing act between the two.”
Intraconference debates
The SEC and Big Ten are both bigger and division-less for the first time. That necessitated new tiebreaker procedures to determine which teams qualify for conference title games featuring the top two teams in the standings.
Within the guidelines is an acknowledgment that the rigor of conference schedules will vary when teams are playing barely half the league. After head-to-head and record vs. common opponents are used to break ties, both leagues go to results that favor the team that fared better against the better conference opponents they play.
The ACC, a year ahead of the the SEC and Big Ten in abandoning divisions, has a similar nod within its tiebreakers to strength of schedule.
ACC Associate Commissioner Michael Strickland said the conference used 10 years of data that measures the success of its football teams to help create a new schedule rotation that would be competitively balanced. But the ACC also to had weigh travel now that Stanford, California and SMU are members, as well as protecting some traditional annual rivalries.
The ACC’s fourth two-team tiebreaker is combined winning percentage of conference opponents.
“Our head football coaches suggested that we insert that during our review process,” Strickland said.
The CFP choices
The CFP field announced Dec. 8 will be comprised of the five highest-ranked conference champions, regardless of league, and seven at-large selections. There is no limit to the number of at-large bids a conference can receive.
The most interesting comparisons for the CFP selection committee might end up being between the many conference rivals that do not play each other in the regular season.
What to do with a 10-2 Missouri and a 9-3 Alabama (composite strength-of-schedule ranking, 9.3)? Or Iowa (37) at 10-2 and Michigan (16) at 9-3? Over in the ACC, what would happen while assessing a 10-2 Virginia Tech (68) and a 9-3 Florida State (30.3)?
“Especially when we’re picking (seven) teams now, we’re looking at the loss column with a bit more scrutiny,” Fremeau said. “They’re going to be debating teams like that with a one or possibly two-game difference in record, but a comparable difference in expected schedule rating and they’re going to have that debate about which one they value more.”
(The Associated Press contributed to this report)
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