South Dakota State to host UC-Davis in FCS playoffs first round
BROOKINGS – South Dakota State will be working on Thanksgiving weekend.
The Jackrabbits did not nab one of the eight seeds in the FCS playoffs, announced Sunday morning at the NCAA Selection Show, and instead will host UC-Davis on Saturday at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
SDSU (8-3) is making its 10th straight appearance in the FCS playoffs, and were the national runners-up in the spring season. The Aggies went 8-3 this year. The winner of SDSU/Davis will travel to play 4th-seed Sacramento State in the second round.
Defending national champion Sam Houston (10-0) earned the top seed, followed by North Dakota State, James Madison, Sacramento State, Villanova, Montana, East Tennessee and Montana State.
South Dakota State is coming off a 24-21 win over North Dakota in the regular season finale, but had an overall underwhelming regular season, given that they were the top seed in the spring season and advanced to Frisco, then returned virtually that entire roster. Entering the playoffs unseeded and without a bye wasn’t the plan, but the Jacks are ready to pivot to a new one.
“We ripped up our goal sheet,” said running back Pierre Strong. “Winning the conference, getting a seed – we just got one goal now, and that’s go 1-0. Right now it don’t matter if you’re the first seed or the last team in, it’s win or go home for everybody.”
When they’re at their best, the Jacks have been stunningly good. They whipped FBS Colorado State in their opener, and handed the 2nd-seeded Bison their only loss just three weeks ago. They also blew a 20-0 lead to Southern Illinois and lost to USD on a Hail Mary when the win was nearly in hand.
The Jacks say they’ve owned their mistakes, and look forward to being the team they were in their best moments, rather than the one that had fans pulling their hair out.
“The ultimate goal is getting to Frisco and winning the championship,” said defensive end Tolu Ogunrinde. “We’re still on pace to do that. It comes down to execution. We are that same team that beat Colorado State and North Dakota State, and we’re that same team that lost to USD. We’ve taken the best shot from a lot of good teams this year and this is where we are now.”
The Jacks are 5-2 all-time against Cal-Davis, with the last meeting coming in 2012. SDSU won that day 12-8 at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium. The Aggies are coached by Dan Hawkins, who previously coached at Boise State and Colorado.
The Jacks are on the opposite side of the bracket as NDSU, USD and James Madison, giving them a fairly favorable draw overall. But they won’t look past the Aggies.
“We’re excited,” said Jacks coach John Stiegelmeier. “We’re blessed to be at home. Our administration stepped up like they always do and I know our fans will show up. But I’m not looking any farther ahead than Cal-Davis. They’re a good team and we know a lot about them. We’re looking forward to that contest.”
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota State to host UC-Davis in FCS playoffs first round
