South Dakota State awarded No. 1 seed in spring FCS football playoffs

Marcus Traxler, The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
·2 min read

Apr. 18—For the first time in school history, the South Dakota State University football team has earned the top seed in the 16-team Football Championship Subdivision playoffs and will host Holy Cross in the opening round of the FCS playoffs.

The Jackrabbits (5-1 ) received the Missouri Valley Football Conference's automatic bid after defeating North Dakota State, 27-17, on April 17 to earn a share of the league title. SDSU will be making its ninth consecutive appearance in the FCS playoffs and 10th overall.

Holy Cross (3-0) earned the automatic bid out of the Patriot League. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. Saturday, April 24 at Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, with the game televised on ESPN3.com. In-person attendance for FCS playoffs games will be capped at 25% due to NCAA regulations.

SDSU's selection as the No. 1 overall seed was a national surprise, as the Jacks were picked over No. 1-ranked and undefeated James Madison, which was slotted third. Sam Houston, located in Huntsville, Texas and undefeated at 6-0, was seeded No. 2.

Five Missouri Valley teams qualified for the playoffs, including NDSU, Missouri State, North Dakota and Southern Illinois, with the conference claiming four of the six at-large slots available in the bracket. The SDSU/Holy Cross winner will play Weber State or Southern Illinois on quarterfinal weekend May 1 or 2.

The championship semifinals will be played May 8, with the FCS championship game scheduled for Sunday, May 16 in Frisco, Texas.

2020-21 NCAA FCS Playoffs

First round — April 24

Upper bracket

Holy Cross (Mass.) (3-0) at No. 1 South Dakota St. (5-1)

Southern Ill. (5-3) at Weber St. (Utah) (5-0)

Sacred Heart (Conn.) (3-1) at Delaware (5-0)

Davidson (N.C.) (4-2) at No. 4 Jacksonville St. (Ala.) (9-2)

Lower bracket

Virginia Military Institute (6-1) at No. 3 James Madison (Va.) (5-0)

Missouri St. (5-4) at North Dakota (4-1)

Eastern Wash. (5-1) at North Dakota St. (6-2)

Monmouth (N.J.) (3-0) at No. 2 Sam Houston (Texas) (6-0)

Quarterfinals — May 1-2

Times and sites to be announced

Upper bracket

SIU/Weber State winner vs. Holy Cross/SDSU winner

Sacred Heart/Delaware winner vs. Davidson/JSU winner

Lower bracket

Missouri State/UND winner vs. VMI/JMU winner

EWU/NDSU winner vs. Monmouth/SHSU winner