Semifinal bound: South Dakota State knocks off Villanova to advance in FCS playoffs

VILLANOVA, Penn. – At halftime of Saturday’s FCS quarterfinal playoff game between South Dakota State and Villanova, things did not look great for the visiting Jackrabbits.

The Wildcats had scored back-to-back touchdowns to take a 21-14 lead into the locker room, and Pierre Strong, the nation’s leading rusher, was in street clothes after going through the concussion protocol. The SDSU defense was struggling to stop the Wildcat passing game, and it was tempting to wonder if the Jacks weren’t just starting to get a bit worn down after two straight weekends of traveling halfway across the country.

Then the second half began. And domination by the visitors ensued.

Unseeded South Dakota State outscored the fifth-seeded Wildcats 21-0 after halftime on their way to a 35-21 win at Villanova Stadium that sends the Jackrabbits (11-3) to the semifinals, where they’ll face Montana State in Bozeman.

“We’re some road warriors for sure,” said SDSU quarterback Chris Oladokun, who threw a pair of touchdown passes to Jaxon Janke, including a 38-yarder late in the third quarter to give the Jacks a 28-21 lead. “We’ve touched almost every region in the country and we have another road test coming up next week. In that locker room we know how special this group is. When we play together and play harder than the man across from us we don't think anyone can beat us."

Villanova (10-3) brought a balanced offensive attack into the game, but they hurt the Jacks mostly with the pass in the first half, thanks to some blown coverages and penalties against the SDSU secondary. But the Jacks' coaches realized the Wildcat running game wasn’t going to hurt them, and adjusted accordingly at the break. They went to more zone coverages and backed off the line of scrimmage, and the Wildcat offense went cold as a result. Quarterback Dan Smith was 7-of-9 for 157 yards and two touchdowns in the first half – in the second he went 10-of-17 for 114 yards, no touchdowns and an interception.

“They started rushing three and dropping eight, and there’s not a lot of places to put the ball when there’s eight guys back there covering,” said Nova coach Mark Ferrante. “You can’t put 21 on the board in the first half and a goose egg in the second half and expect to win a playoff game against a team as good as South Dakota State.”

With Strong down, Isaiah Davis carried the load, and the Jacks didn’t miss a beat. Davis, who was SDSU’s leading rusher in the spring season but missed most of this fall with a shoulder injury, ran 25 times for 174 yards and three touchdowns, while Amar Johnson stepped in as the new No. 2 back and rushed for 64 yards on 14 carries.

That was thanks in large part to the performance by the SDSU offensive line. The unit of Aron Johnson, Mason McCormick, Wes Genant, Eddie Miller and Garret Greenfield paved the way for a 5.9 average per carry and Oladokun was never sacked. Wildcat linebacker Forrest Rhyne, who was the conference defensive player of the year in the CAA and had a game-high 21 tackles, said the Jacks offensive line was perhaps the best they’ve faced this season.

When Strong went down it was a blow, but the Jacks didn’t wallow in the news.

“We had a conversation with the O-line that was just, we got to step up,” Davis said. “The O-line did a great job up front and the coaches did a great job of seeing what’s working and staying with that.”

Davis’ third score of the game, a 2-yarder midway through the fourth, stretched the SDSU lead to two scores at 35-21, but the Wildcats couldn’t muster an answer. Michael Griffin intercepted a pass by Smith in centerfield with 4:43 to go, and after an SDSU punt gave the Wildcats the ball back with 3:39 and no timeouts, Nova fumbled in Jacks territory, effectively ending the game.

It was a markedly different path to victory than the Jacks had taken last week at Sacramento State, when they led 24-0 early and had to hang on for a 24-19 win. They knew when they went into halftime they had to improve to extend their season, and they responded with one of the best halves of football they’ve played in 24 games this calendar year.

“There wasn’t a big speech,” said defensive end Cade Terveer. “We just all said in the locker room, this is where we’ve got to step up. And that’s what we did.”

SDSU's 11th win ties the school record for wins in a season. They've reached the semifinals for the fourth time in the last five seasons, and are now a win away from a second straight trip to Frisco for the title.

“I’m just proud of ‘em," said coach John Stiegelmeier. "Proud of the way they went out and played. Nobody said anything at halftime. It was just our senior leadership, coaches making adjustments and guys making plays. That’s what football is about.”

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: SDSU football knocks off Villanova to advance FCS playoff semifinals