FCS national championship: Four keys to victory for South Dakota State
South Dakota State has won five of the last seven meetings with North Dakota State, including three in a row.
They have never, however, defeated the Bison in the playoffs. And NDSU has never lost in Frisco – 9-0 in the Division I-AA/FCS national championship.
What will it take for the Jackrabbits to be the first team to defeat the Bison at Toyota Stadium? Here are four keys.
Don’t fall behind early in the FCS championship
Starting fast would be ideal for SDSU, but all we’re saying here is that the Jacks need to avoid digging themselves an early hole. They fell behind 21-7 at the Fargodome in the last meeting, and that was a big enough mountain to climb. Even though the crowd at Toyota Stadium will be more bipartisan than the one in Fargo, the hunch here is that if the Jacks fall behind in this one they’ll find it even tougher to come back, as NDSU will lean into the momentum, the crowd will become a factor, and the Jacks, as the team with zero national championships, will feel the heat against a team with all the championship experience the Bison have.
More:FCS national championship: Four keys to victory for North Dakota State
The Jacks also fell behind 14-0 at North Dakota and had perhaps their most sluggish start in the season finale against Illinois State. Each time they got it together to come back and win. No one is saying they couldn’t do it again, but they’ll make it a lot easier on themselves if they can avoid coming out flat.
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South Dakota State needs to finish drives
Lost in the praise for their defense and overall poise and resolve in the 23-21 win over NDSU in the regular season was that the Jackrabbit offense scored only two touchdowns in the game. It wasn’t that the offense struggled, as they had 18 first downs, 359 yards of total offense and 202 yards on the ground against a strong Bison defense.
More:South Dakota State quarterback Mark Gronowski grateful for another shot at Frisco
But settling for field goals three times when deep in Bison territory could’ve cost them. Points figure to be at a premium in this one, so the Jacks should still take three points when they can get them, but getting touchdowns, especially on drives that venture inside the 5-yard line, could make the difference between a win and a loss.
Get Tucker Kraft involved
Kraft did not play when the teams hooked up in October. Still recovering from the ankle injury he suffered in the season opener at Iowa, Kraft warmed up before the game but was ultimately held out, and would make his return the next week at UND.
The Jacks won anyway, of course, no small feat since Kraft is arguably their best player. He’s already declared for this year’s NFL Draft where he’s expected to be one of the first tight ends taken. Kraft barely touched the ball in SDSU’s first two playoff wins, though he makes an impact even without the ball as a punishing run blocker and decoy.
That said, there’s no good reason not to get the ball into his hands early and often in Frisco. Kraft is SDSU’s most versatile weapon, and he’s nearly impossible to tackle 1-on-1 in the open field. This will be his final game as a Jackrabbit, and there’s no doubt the Timber Lake native will want to go out with a bang.
Tackle well against NDSU
It’s basic, yes, like saying ‘they need to score more points than the other team’, but it’s amazing, really, how many games are decided by which team tackles better.
The Jacks did not tackle well in their quarterfinal win over Holy Cross, and as such found themselves in danger of losing early in the fourth quarter before pulling away late. Then in the semifinals, against a Montana State team that figured to be a far bigger challenge, SDSU dominated, in large part because of how well they tackled.
NDSU quarterback Cam Miller has scored a rushing touchdown in eight straight games and ran for 132 yards in the semifinals against Incarnate Word. He had just 19 rushing yards against SDSU earlier this year (in part because he threw for 222), and Miller indicated he hopes to be more of a factor running the ball this time. The Jacks’ ability to keep him contained and swarm to the ball against NDSU’s other running backs, will be one of the game’s biggest keys.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: 4 keys for South Dakota State football to win FCS championship vs NDSU
