South Dakota State football gets No. 1 seed in FCS playoffs
BROOKINGS - No. 1 South Dakota State is the No. 1 seed in the FCS playoffs.
The Jackrabbits were announced as the top overall seed in the 24-team tournament on Sunday, which the team watched from the Club 71 room at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium on ESPNU.
Though the Jackrabbits have been the No. 1 team in the Top 25 poll since knocking off North Dakota State in October, many national prognosticators predicted No. 2 Sacramento State would get the top seed by way of being 11-0 while the Jacks have one loss. But SDSU’s resume won out. The Jacks’ one loss was to Iowa, by a 7-3 score. The Hawkeyes are 7-4 this year.
Each of the tournament’s eight seeds get a first-round bye, so the Jackrabbits, who had their regularly scheduled bye last week, will begin their playoff run on Dec. 3 at home against the winner of St. Francis and Delaware.
Both of the top two seeds bring with them home field advantage throughout the playoffs (the national championships game is at a neutral site in Frisco, Tex.), so there isn't a big difference between No. 1 and No. 2. But the Jackrabbits definitely felt they deserved the top seed, and were proud to earn it.
"Definitely when No. 1 popped up it felt good," said cornerback Dalys Beanum. "It took a lot of hard work to get there so it was really rewarding to see our name and logo be the first ones on the screen."
Coach John Stiegelmeier agreed. He didn't much care if they got the one or two, or who would end up on their side of the bracket. But he did want to see his team rewarded for the best regular season in program history.
"I think that's the biggest thing," Stiegelmeier said. "For the committee, which represents all of FCS football, to say you're the best team right now, I think that's another step we've taken. I'm very proud of our team and what they've accomplished this year. They deserved to be the top seed."
Sacramento State earned the No. 2 seed, while 9-2 NDSU got the 3-seed, leapfrogging 10-1 Montana State, who got the four. William & Mary, Samford, Incarnate Word and Holy Cross rounded out the eight seeds.
With SDSU getting the top seed and NDSU the three, they wouldn’t have to face each other until, potentially, the national championship. There could be a rematch of last year’s semifinal, however, if SDSU and Montana State win out, but this year the Bobcats would come to Brookings. Last year, MSU knocked the Jacks out in Bozeman.
NDSU will face the winner of Montana and Southeast Missouri State in their Dec. 3 game.
North Dakota also made it out of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, and will visit Weber State in the first round.
Idaho, coached by former SDSU offensive coordinator Jason Eck, earned an at-large spot and will play Southeastern Louisiana. Youngstown State, despite a 7-4 record, did not get in, leaving the Valley with just three teams in the bracket.
The Jackrabbits went 10-1 in the regular season, earning their first Missouri Valley Football Conference outright title. They were 8-0 in conference play and 10-0 against FCS teams. That included road wins over North Dakota State (who was No. 1 at the time), North Dakota, Missouri State and Northern Iowa, all of whom have been ranked at some point this season. They also had a home win against Cal-Davis, a team that was on the playoff bubble Sunday.
SDSU will be making its 11th consecutive appearance in the FCS playoffs.
"We're excited to be the No. 1 seed and get the home field advantage that comes with it," said defensive end Reece Winkelman. "It's a nice reward for the season we've had and we're excited to play in front of our fans. Now it's one game at a time to accomplish our goal."
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota State football gets No. 1 seed in FCS playoffs
