BROOKINGS — South Dakota State got its first-ever win over the Montana Grizzlies back in January, with a 23-3 triumph in the FCS national championship game.
Now in the same calendar year, another first involving Montana: the Grizzlies debut trip to Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
The Griz come to Brookings on Saturday for the second round of the FCS playoffs in what is the 10th meeting between the teams. Montana has been to Brookings before, but not since 1970, when both teams were in Division II. And until SDSU's win in Frisco, the Grizzlies led the all-time series 8-0.
The Jacks had little difficulty with Montana in the national championship game, holding them without a touchdown and pretty much shutting down an offense that had scored 115 points in the three playoff games prior to getting there. And this year's Griz appear to be a step down.
While last year's squad had just one loss before the title tilt, Montana entered these playoffs with an 8-4 record and did not earn a top-8 seed and first round bye. They lost to North Dakota (a 5-7 team the Jacks beat 38-7) and Weber State (a team that went 4-8), and were beaten convincingly by No. 4 UC-Davis and No. 1 Montana State.
They advanced to the second round with a 41-27 win over Tennessee State last Saturday in Missoula. The Tigers are a solid team that was playing well coming into the tournament, but they're also a team that lost 52-3 to North Dakota State, and were it not for two punt return touchdowns by Grizzlies star return man Junior Bergen Tennessee State might be the team coming to Brookings on Saturday.
None of that necessarily means the Jacks are a sure thing to move on Saturday.
The Griz offense is an explosive one, averaging 34.5 points with good balance at just over 200 yards rushing and passing per contest.
Quarterback Clifton McDowell bailed after last season but a few key offensive weapons are back, notably running back Eli Gillman and receiver Bergen, who's nothing short of the most-explosive special teams weapon in the country and has 46 catches on offense, too.
And there's something to be said for history. Montana has won two national championships (1995, 2001) and been runner-up six times. They're in the playoffs for the fourth straight year and 19th time since the turn of the century.
Still, they'll be going up against easily their biggest test against the SDSU defense. And on the other side of the ball, a Jackrabbit offense that finished the regular season strong will be facing a Griz defense that's been fairly pedestrian, allowing 25 points and more than 350 yards per game.
Will there be a big crowd? The Jacks have played in front of more than 20,000 fans in Missoula, but SDSU's smaller playoff crowds have been well-documented. After a week of frigid cold Saturday's forecast calls for balmy temps in the 40s. Students are granted free admission and general admission tickets can be had for $10.
With the FCS field having lost many of its top teams over the last few years, SDSU and Montana are two of just a handful of true power programs still left in their class, making this an especially high-profile matchup for the second round.
"This is a really good football team with a lot of skilled players," said Jacks coach Jimmy Rogers. "This will be a tough matchup for us and we're excited to hopefully fill the stadium for it."
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