​South Dakota State’s football team is coming off an uncharacteristic 2025 season, with its shortest run in the FCS playoffs since 2019.That 9-5 finish could create some external pressure for the Jackrabbits to get back to their winning ways, but they aren’t quite feeling it.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHead coach Dan Jackson opts to set the bar so high that the pressure doesn’t mean anything inside the program. He has the saying “The statement is the standard,” on a wall, accompanied by a photo of the national championship trophy.”There’s no pressure, and nobody could put more pressure on us than we put on ourselves every day,” Jackson said.Seniors Chase Mason and Logan Green both said they don’t feel any pressure because of Jackson’s consistent toughness. The expectation is that they practice at a level that eliminates any potential pressure on Saturdays.”We hold our standard at practice, just like a game,” Mason said. “I go out there every single day treating a practice just like I would a game. That’s where I feel the pressure. It doesn’t feel like much when it comes to a game.”1 / 24The television displays the Missouri Valley Conference media day logos on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.(Samantha Laurey / Argus Leader)Green said he feels something heading into 2026, but it isn’t pressure. He has such immense pride to be a Jackrabbit that he doesn’t want to “let somebody down” with a second consecutive year without a deep playoff run.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement”The last two years have been absolutely gut-wrenching losses in the playoffs,” Green said. “I hate that feeling. I hate losing more than winning. That’s just one of those things that you have to reflect back on yourself. What could I have done better?”Jackson expects to compete for and win national championships. He has people in place on his staff and on the roster who are committed to living up to that expectation.One of the ways the Jackrabbits continue to compete for titles is by getting players in their building who are committed to making the program better, not just themselves.”That is why our players stay and that is why our players develop,” Jackson said. “It isn’t about individual goals. There’s no selfishness to it. South Dakota State is one of the few places in the country that everyone is there for the betterment of the state, the community and the university, not their own personal success.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe players have learned how to win from each other. This year’s senior class got to campus in time for the 2022 national championship season, and Green credits those veterans for showing the right way to go about business.”Just seeing it done at a very high level, you understand everything about it,” Green said. “In the second year we won, we went undefeated. That’s not easy day in and day out. You have to give 110%. That’s something you have got to practice over the off-season and