FRISCO BOUND: South Dakota State football going to national championship with rout of Montana State

BROOKINGS – Texas, here come the Jackrabbits.

In a rematch of last year’s FCS playoff semifinal but with the site reversed, No. 1 South Dakota State routed 4^th-seeded Montana State 39-18 at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, sending them to Frisco, Tex., where on Jan. 8 they’ll face their archrivals, the North Dakota State Bison, in the national championship game.

With both teams coming in unbeaten this year against FCS competition, boasting some of the most talented players and respected coaches in the country, nothing short of a classic, down-to-the-wire donnybrook was expected.

Instead, the Jackrabbits dominated.

It was the biggest football game ever played in South Dakota, and the coldest ever played in Brookings, and the Jacks were deterred by neither the high stakes nor the frigid temps.

Montana State looked unbeatable in the regular season and in their 55-7 thrashing of William & Mary in last week’s quarterfinals. They were itching for another shot at the Bison, who beat them in last year's title tilt.

Maybe their recent dominance made the Bobcats overconfident. Maybe SDSU was just that much better on this day. The Jacks are confident, too, after running the table following their 7-3 loss to Iowa in the season-opener, and SDSU coach John Stiegelmeier said that confidence may have been the most overlooked factor in his team’s performance.

More:South Dakota State football's Tucker Kraft plays best playoff game in Jacks' semifinal win

“We’d won 12 straight games,” Stiegelmeier said. “We’ve come back. We’ve put teams away. These guys have been around the block, and they took the field with confidence. That overrides schemes and drills and all that stuff.”

The Bobcats (12-2) brought to Brookings an offense that never scored fewer than 28 points all season, that averaged more than 330 rushing yards per game and almost seven yards per carry. SDSU mostly silenced them. MSU finished with 52 rushing yards and only 281 of total offense. ‘Touchdown’ Tommy Mellott rushed for 155 yards and threw for 233 in last year’s 31-17 win over the Jacks. On Saturday he had 17 attempts for three (3) net yards.

“He tore us up last year,” linebacker Adam Bock said of Mellott. “He was the reason they were going to Frisco. That’s one of the best offenses we’ve seen all year and we came out and played our ball.”

The offense dominated, too. The Jacks scored touchdowns on each of their first five drives, building a 28-9 lead at halftime. Isaiah Davis and Amar Johnson were running free into the second level, Mark Gronowski was keeping the Bobcat defense on its heel with his arm and his feet and tight end Tucker Kraft was making his presence felt in the running and passing game.

Davis and Johnson had touchdown runs of 41 and 38 yards, big plays that brought the 7,195 fans to life and demoralized a stunned Bobcat sideline. When the Jacks went 80 yards in seven plays on their first series of the second half, taking a 36-9 lead on a swing pass from Gronowski to Johnson, the rout was on.

“We only had to kick one field goal and punt once, so it was really efficient,” Kraft said of the offense. “I really just loved the fact that we trusted the run game. We just kept pounding the rock and imposing our will on their defense.”

The Bobcats had just 17 rushing yards at halftime. Mellott couldn’t get loose on the run, and the Jacks delivered several punishing hits on him. MSU had started the game playing both of their quarterbacks – Mellott and Sean Chambers – at the same time, and that unorthodox look helped MSU drive the field for a touchdown on their opening drive. But Chambers got hurt during the drive and didn’t return, and the Bobcats wouldn’t score another touchdown until there were eight minutes left and the game was out of reach.

Davis finished with 158 rushing yards. Gronowski rushed for 52 yards and a score and completed 10-of-13 throws for 189 yards and two more touchdowns.  Johnson had 69 yards rushing, 31 yard receiving and scored twice. The defense had four sacks and 10 tackles for loss. Bock and Isaiah Stalbird had eight stops apiece, but it was again the defensive line, led by Caleb Sanders, Reece Winkleman and Cade Terveer, leading the way.

“A lot of credit goes to South Dakota State,” said Bobcats coach Brent Vigen. “They defended us well and tackled us well. In a lot of ways it was gonna come down to who tackled better and they did that today. They came out and earned it. They certainly beat us on the field in every which way.”

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: FRISCO BOUND: South Dakota State football advances to national championship with rout of Montana State