For the second season in a row, Montana State has the opportunity to take out the top-ranked team in the FCS on their home field.
On Saturday, MSU will travel to Brookings, South Dakota to take on No. 1 South Dakota State. The top-seeded Jackrabbits have the No. 1 ranking in the FCS for the first time in their program’s history and, like Montana State, are undefeated against FCS competition this season.
Montana State had the most dominant performance of its season and the most dominant performance of any of the four quarterfinal winners last week. The Bobcats rushed for 328 yards and also scored on special teams on the way to a 55-7 win over Colonial Athletic Association champion William & Mary. The Bobcats called off the dogs with five minutes to go in the third quarter or the margin could’ve been even wider.
South Dakota State got Patriot League champion Holy Cross’s best shot before pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 42-21 win. Last week’s action was tied at 21 early in the fourth quarter.
Saturday’s semifinal in Brookings is a rematch of last year’s Final Four matchup. The Bobcats dispatched of SDSU 31-17 in Bozeman to earn a trip to the FCS championship game for the first time since 1984.
“I think both teams are very similar to last year,” Montana State second-year head coach Brent Vigen said on Monday. “Not a lot of differences in how we want to do things. That’s the way they should be this time of year when it’s down to four teams.”
MSU has advanced to the last three FCS Final Fours. South Dakota State has been to five semifinals since 2017, including playing for the FCS national championship in the spring of 2021 and advancing back to the semifinals last season.
SDSU has never been to a fall national championship game. This season is South Dakota State’s 12th FCS playoff appearance since first making it in 2009.
QUICK HITS
Location: Brookings, South Dakota
Nickname: Jackrabbits
Founded: Like Montana State, South Dakota State is a public land-grant university. Founded in 1881, it is the state’s largest and most comprehensive university and the oldest continually-operating university in South Dakota.
South Dakota State University was founded under the provisions of the 1862 Morrill Act. This land-grant heritage and mission has led the university to place a special focus on academic programs in agriculture, engineering, nursing, and pharmacy, as well as liberal arts. It is classified among “R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity”. The graduate program is classified as Doctoral, Science, Technology, Engineering, Math dominant (STEM) very similar to Montana State.
Enrollment: 11,465, including 9,717 undergraduates and an endowment $213 million.
Stadium: Dana J. Dykehouse Stadium was constructed in phases on the previous Coughlin-Alumni Stadium site and has a seating capacity of 19,340. The field has a traditional north-south alignment at an approximate elevation of 1,620 feet (495 m) above sea level.
It was funded through private gifts and long-term revenue streams, including expanded club seats, loge boxes, and a premium suite level. Lead gifts totaling $12.5 million from Sioux Falls banker Dana Dykhouse and philanthropist T. Denny Sanford were announced in October 2013 and the stadium opened in 2016.
“I haven’t been there since the new stadium they built in 2016,” said Vigen, who played at North Dakota State from 1993 until 1997 while both NDSU and SDSU were in the North Central Conference of Division II. “I remember going back there and playing and coaching there through 2013 and it was always a challenging environment. They had good teams. That’s what it’s been over time. South Dakota State was always going to have a good team and they were always going to play hard.”
SDSU has averaged 13,254 fans per game in eight home games, including sellouts against South Dakota and Indiana State. SDSU has played three home games over the last month, averaging 6,942 fans during that span. SDSU had 6,117 fans on hand for its 42-6 win over Delaware in the second round and 6,549 fans on hand for last week’s 42-21 win over Holy Cross.
THE TEAM (12-1 this season)
The Coach: John Stiegelmeier, 26th season at South Dakota State.
Stiegelmeier is the only coach the Jackrabbits have ever had during its Division I era. He has been at SDSU in some capacity since 1988. He has been the head coach since 1997. South Dakota State moved into Division I in 2004.
Stiegelmeier and the ‘Jacks had modest success during their Division II days. SDSU had winning records each of its first four seasons playing Division I and won the Great West Conference in 2007 before joining the Missouri Valley Football Conference the next season.
South Dakota State’s first playoff appearance came in 2009. SDSU has only missed the playoffs twice (2010, 2011) and is working on a streak of 10 straight post-season appearances. The Jackrabbits have been to the semifinal round of the plaoyffs every year since 2017 save a second-round exit in 2019.
This is SDSU’s fourth semifinal appearance over past five fall seasons. Stiegelmeier is 194-112 during his head coaching career and has just two losing seasons (2010, 2011) since the Jacks moved up to Division I almost two decades ago.
WHAT TO WATCH — THE OFFENSE
Matt Gronowski, quarterback, 6-3, 220, sophomore — It’s not often that you lose a quarterback to the NFL Draft and still get your guy back.
Gronowski was SDSU’s team MVP and the Missouri Valley Offensive Player of the Year as a true freshman in the spring season of 2021. He threw for 1,565 yards and 15 touchdowns in 10 games to lead the Jackrabbits to the FCS national title game.
He suffered an injury that cost him the 2021 fall season in that contest against Sam Houston. Enter Chris Oladokun, a transfer to SDSU from Samford by way of South Florida who went on to become a 7th round draft pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers last spring. He threw for 3,164 yards and 25 touchdowns his lone season at SDSU, including for 315 yards and a score against Montana State.
“The biggest difference from last year is a change at quarterback,” Vigen said. “Oladokun is gone and Gronowski is back. As a young guy, he led his team to the national championship game so they are similar enough where their offense doesn’t change because of him.”
Gronowski has completed 65 percent of his passes for 2,555 yards, 21 touchdowns and just five picks this season. He’s also rushed for 300 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Jaxon Janke, wide receiver, 6-3, 210, senior — The steady, strong wideout has been one of SDSU’s most consistent offensive players the last few seasons. He had 72 catches for 1,165 yards on the way to earning second-team All-MVFC honors for the second year in a row last fall. This season, he is SDSU’s leading receiver again with 54 catches for 723 yards and seven touchdowns. He has 187 catches for 2,725 yards and 22 scores in his career.
Jadon Janke, wide receiver, 6-3, 210, senior — Jadon is South Dakota State’s second-leading receiver this season behind his twin brother. He has caught 45 passes for 695 yards and six touchdowns this season. He has 107 catches for 1,775 yards and 20 touchdowns in his career.
“The Jahnke twins are very impressive,” Vigen said.
Tucker Kraft, tight end, 6-5, 255, junior — Kraft is one of the most physically impressive players in college football. He is gigantic, strong and moves well for being so formidable. He was on either end of highlight reel plays last season, including being on the receiving end of a bone-crushing hit by Troy Andersen that helped shift the momentum in favor of Montana State.
Kraft has missed six games this season. He has 21 catches for 249 yards and two touchdowns.
“I think both of their tight ends are NFL types,” Vigen said. “In the blocking game, they can be dominant and in the pass game, too.”
Isaiah Davis, running back, 6-1, 220, junior — The bruising, aggressive runner was super productive while splitting time with Pierre Strong the last two seasons. He rushed for 1,519 yards and 17 touchdowns between the spring and the fall last year.
This season, with Strong now playing for the New England Patriots, Davis has rushed for 1,190 yards and 13 touchdowns to lead the SDSU rushing attack.
“Isaiah Davis is a really good back and this time of year, they want to lean on him probably more than anybody,” Vigen said.
WHAT TO WATCH — THE DEFENSE
Caleb Sanders, defensive tackle, 6-1, 270, senior — Sanders is a savvy player who uses his fundamentals and his sneaky explosiveness to dominate the interior. He has 32 tackles, including six sacks and eight tackles for loss.
Reece Winkelman, defensive end, 6-4, 245, senior — Winkelman has led SDSU in sacks for three seasons straight, including this season, where his 6.5 sacks are a team best. He also has 12 tackles for loss. In his career, he has 21.5 sacks and 42.5 tackles for loss.
Adam Bock, linebacker, 6-1, 215, junior — Bock was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award and an All-American last season after rolling up 125 tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss. This year, he’s played in nine games, but is second on the team with 62 tackles. He has five tackles for loss, three sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
SDSU comes at opponents in waves with its defense, especially along the front, Vigen said. That’s what has the Jackrabbits allowing just 2.8 yards per carry and 85 yards per game on the ground.
“First of all, they are very principled,” Vigen said. “And their guys play within that scheme very well. You don’t see a lot of plays where they have too many guys in a gap or they busted this or they busted that. Beyond that, they have good players and they play really hard.
“They have great players, they play probably 14 guys among their front seven positions, they are extremely disciplined and they play super hard. Our effort level, our physicality, our consistency has to be as good as its been.”
