BROOKINGS — The FCS playoffs have arrived.
Montana State is the No. 1 seed. North Dakota State earned the No. 2 seed and handed the two-time defending national champion Jackrabbits their first loss to an FCS team since 2021.
And the USD Coyotes might be as good or better than any of them, entering the playoffs riding the high of a legendary 29-28 come-from-behind win over the Bison.
Weirdly enough, the reigning champs almost feel like an afterthought.
Not that anyone is dismissing South Dakota State as a threat to win the national championship, of course. They're the No. 3 seed, could probably have been the two, and are 38-1 against FCS opponents over the last three seasons. That one loss came by four points to the Bison in the Fargodome. SDSU will host the winner of Montana and Tennessee State on Dec. 7 following their first-round bye.
Ever since the Jacks were held to 24 points by Division II Augustana (a team that went on to win the NSIC title) there's been sort of a sense that this year's team is a step down from last year's. That the offense isn't as explosive, the defense not as dominant. That this team is good, sure, but not to be feared like the one that went 15-0 last year and outscored their four playoff foes 146-15.
"I feel like we're a little disrespected," said quarterback Mark Gronowski, who has had his own credentials questioned after a couple pedestrian performances earlier in the season. "We have a lot of new guys and not a lot of the national big-name guys like the Jankes, Mason McCormick and so on. But we've got guys who are getting on that national stage now, and I think these playoffs will put some more names to those faces."
Indeed, the loss of players like McCormick, the Jankes, Garret Greenfield, Isaiah Davis, Zach Heins, Isaiah Stalbird and DyShawn Gales — all of whom were in NFL camps this summer — took out a big chunk of SDSU's star power. Then came a loss to Oklahoma State that wasn't as close as the Jacks would've liked and that unimpressive win over Augustana.
And though the Jacks righted the ship quickly, routing Southeastern Louisiana, Northern Iowa and Youngstown State in succession, they lost to NDSU and needed overtime to beat the Coyotes. It's understandable, given that SDSU beat both of those teams handily last year, that those close games engendered further doubt towards the Jackrabbits, but NDSU and USD are both better than they were last year. Perhaps significantly. SDSU didn't play especially poorly in either. But they definitely seem to be better now than they were back in October.
Since the 20-17 win over the Coyotes in Brookings, SDSU has gone 4-0, outscoring their opponents 176-32. Far lesser competition, to be sure (Murray State, North Dakota, Southern Illinois, Missouri State), but the Jacks have quietly built a tremendous amount of momentum heading into the postseason.
The offense seems to have figured out what it wants to be. Gronowski is playing like his old self, Griffin Wilde has fully established himself as a top-flight receiver and the running back room has found its footing behind an offensive line that has allowed just six sacks all year while paving the way for 6.5 yards per rush.
Meanwhile the defense may be as good as it was last year, when the Jacks were thought to be playing at an almost unreachable level.
SDSU allowed 9.3 points per game last year in a season where they did not play an FBS team. This year, if you throw out the FBS loss, they're allowing 9.5 points per game.
"We're gelling at the right time," said linebacker Graham Spalding. "Both sides of the ball, all three phases are coming on and now we've got a bye week to get better and get our bodies right. It's win or go home now, and for the seniors this is it for us, and that's the ultimate motivator."
The Jacks have been to Frisco three times — in the 2020/21 spring season, in 2022 and 2023. All three times they were the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and did not have to go on the road for any playoff games. They're 0-3 in road semifinal games, having lost at NDSU, James Madison and Montana State over the last decade. This year, unless someone upsets NDSU before the semis, the Jacks will have to win in Fargo to get back to the national championship game. As much as SDSU has dominated the recent series against the Bison, they've never won a playoff game in Fargo and already lost there once this year.
But they don't seem daunted by the prospect.
"Montana or Tennessee State won't be a cakewalk," said Jacks coach Jimmy Rogers. "But the opportunity to go back (to Fargo and win), that's something I've looked forward to ever since the loss."
The Trust Project
