BROOKINGS — The USD Coyotes. Those agents of chaos.
With their thrilling 29-28 win over No. 1 North Dakota State on Saturday, the Coyotes turned Sunday morning's FCS playoff selection show into must-see TV.
Now if Montana had upset Montana State in the Brawl of the Wild things really would've been crazy, but even with the Bobcats locked into the No. 1 seed, it was fascinating to speculate on how the committee would ultimately place the three Dakota schools.
All three went 7-1 in the Valley, all three had a respectable FBS loss and they beat each other — NDSU beat SDSU who beat USD who beat NDSU.
Up here in the Dakotas we all assumed that those three would earn the 2-3-4 seeds in some order, but UC-Davis had a damn worthy resume to be in consideration, too.
The Aggies, like NDSU and SDSU, are 10-2. Their losses came to Cal (FBS) and to No. 1 Montana State by two points. They also have wins over Idaho and Montana.
As it turned out, it went:
1. Montana State
2. NDSU
3. SDSU
4. USD
5. UC-Davis
6. Incarnate Word
7. Mercer
8. Idaho
For the first time, 16 teams were seeded instead of 8, but just the top 8 get a first-round bye.
Should the Jacks (or Coyotes) have been given the 2-seed instead of NDSU? Eh, you can make a case. SDSU is arguably the hottest of the three, having dominated every game since the OT win over USD. They're the two-time defending champs, and they have the best win outside of the Dakota-round-robin, having beaten 6th-seeded Incarnate Word by 21 points. Southeastern Louisiana and Missouri State are quality wins, too.
But NDSU's resume is the best of the candidates.
They almost beat Colorado, who has eight wins, and all three of their non-conference wins were against FCS teams that finished with a winning record — East Tennessee State, Towson and Tennessee State (who made the playoffs). They also whipped Illinois State (12th seed in the playoffs) and Missouri State, hammered UND when the F'ing Hawks were ranked 6th in the country, and beat the Jacks.
Did USD get punished for the Portland State game cancellation? I hope not, but it certainly didn't help. They had 9 wins while SDSU and NDSU had 10. Until Saturday they didn't have any real quality wins. To be honest, the Yotes are fairly lucky they didn't get bumped to the 5-seed in favor of UC-Davis.
However they ultimately stacked up, it's a fun top four, for SDSU fans in particular. NDSU and USD are the Jacks' top rivals, obviously, and you could make a strong argument that Montana State is their biggest rival outside of the Valley. They played each other three times in an 18-game span between 2021-2023, and players from both sides said it was starting to feel like a rivalry given the intensity of those games and the respect on both sides.
The Jacks won't be able to face all three, but they'll have to beat NDSU in Fargo to get to Frisco (and get there first, obviously), and if they do it'll almost certainly be against either the Bobcats or the Coyotes.
There are plenty of other potentially really fun matchups.
We could get a national championship game rematch in the second round if Montana beats Tennessee State. That would send the Grizzlies to Brookings for the first time since 1970 and provide a rare early round marquee matchup.
Other interesting second round potentials include 8th-seeded Idaho hosting 9th-seeded Richmond (if the Spiders beat Lehigh), Villanova at Incarnate Word and Illinois State going to UC-Davis. The Redbirds earned the 12-seed but have to go on the road because their stadium is being used for the Illinois high school playoffs. If they can beat SEMO on the road, they'd head to Davis with a chance to strike a major blow for the Valley.
In the quarterfinals we could get a rematch between SDSU and Incarnate Word, and if UC-Davis does survive, they'd come to Vermillion for what would be a terrific 4/5 matchup.
And if Idaho survives, the fighting Jason Ecks would head to Bozeman to try to knock off the No. 1 Bobcats. If they did, that would give USD, assuming they advanced, the opportunity to host the semifinals and never have to travel for the playoffs.
If SDSU three-peats as national champions, there's a good chance they would do it without facing any unfamiliar faces — Montana, Incarnate Word (or Villanova), NDSU and Montana State. Their best bet for facing someone new is probably Tennessee State (coached by Eddie George) beating Montana this Saturday. But that would surprise me, especially in Missoula.
For as much hand-wringing as there's been about the decline of the FCS, most of it deserved, this is a strong bracket. There are, at the very least, four teams that are legit threats to win the national championship. Maybe five, maybe more. And some intriguing upstarts playing in the first round.
It sure beats a month of waiting around for a middling bowl game, right?
The Trust Project
