Jacks, Bobcats to Meet in Top-Three Showdown

September 5, 2025 Travis Kriens Local, Regional and National Sport stories

 GAME 2: #2/2 South Dakota State (1-0) at #3/3 Montana State (0-1)
 When  Saturday, Sept. 6 | 6 p.m. Mountain Time (7 p.m. Central)
 Where  Bobcat Stadium | Bozeman, Montana
 TV  ESPN+/Midco Sports 2
 Radio  Jackrabbits All Access (free audio) | Jackrabbit Sports Network
 Live Stats  GoJacksLive.livestats.us
 Game Notes  SDSU | Montana State | Missouri Valley Football Conference |
 Social Media  Twitter | Facebook | #GoJacks

Two of the top three teams in the Football Championship Subdivision rankings square off Saturday night as Montana State hosts South Dakota State.

Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Mountain Time (7 p.m. Central) at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Montana. Television coverage will be available on ESPN+ and Midco Sports 2.

The two squads flipped spots in the national polls after the opening weekend, with SDSU overtaking the Bobcats for the second spot following a 20-3 home victory over No. 14/15 Sacramento State.

Montana State, meanwhile, slipped to third in both the Stats Perform media poll and American Football Coaches Association rankings after suffering a 59-13 setback at FBS No. 7 Oregon last Saturday.

THE SERIES: Saturday’s game will mark the 19th all-time matchup between South Dakota State and Montana State on the gridiron, and the third in a row in which both squads have both held top-three national rankings.

The series dates back to 1956, when Montana State won a 33-14 decision in a game played in Great Falls, Montana. Overall, the Bobcats hold an 11-7 series edge, although SDSU has won five of the last six contests.

Montana State’s last victory in the series came in the 2021 FCS semifinals, winning a 31-17 decision on its home field in Bozeman. Bobcat quarterback Tommy Mellott tossed a pair of touchdown passes and ran for two scores, including the go-ahead touchdown on the final play of the third quarter.

The Jackrabbits returned the favor last season by notching a 39-18 semifinal victory at a frigid Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium on Dec. 17, 2022. SDSU was ranked No. 1 for that matchup with Montana State third.

SDSU scored on its first five offensive possessions in earning its second trip to an FCS national championship game. Tucker Kraft opened the scoring with a 36-yard touchdown reception from Mark Gronowski, with Gronowski adding a 1-yard TD run later in the opening stanza.

Isaiah Davis (41 yards) and Amar Johnson (38 yards) ran for touchdowns in the second quarter to build the Jackrabbits’ halftime lead to 28-9. Johnson added a 5-yard TD reception in the third quarter.

The Jackrabbits and Bobcats again met as the No. 1 and No. 3 teams, respectively, on Sept. 9, 2023, in Brookings.

Montana State held a 10-0 halftime lead before the Jackrabbits grabbed a short-lived 13-10 lead on a pair of third-quarter touchdowns — a 20-yard run by Mark Gronowski and a 16-yard pass from Gronowski to Zach Heins.

The Bobcats regained the lead with two short field goals in the fourth quarter by Brendan Hall (19, 24 yards), but SDSU quickly responded with a two-play, 75-yard drive that featured Gronowski passes of 40 yards to Grahm Goering and a 35-yard touchdown by Griffin Wilde with 1:30 remaining.

The Jackrabbit defense then withstood a deep drive down field by Montana State, as well as a lengthy review that negated an apparent Bobcat touchdown catch in the back of the end zone, to come away with the 20-16 victory that helped propel SDSU to a perfect 15-0 season.

FOR OPENERS: With their win over Sacramento State last week, the Jackrabbits improved to 11-11 in season-opening games at the Division I level, with seven of the losses against Football Bowl Subdivision teams.

In their 22 seasons at the FCS level, the Jackrabbits have opened with a home game nine times and posted an 8-1 record.

VERSUS THE BIG SKY: South Dakota State begins the 2025 slate with back-to-back games against ranked teams from the Big Sky Conference. Last week, the Jackrabbits defeated No. 14/15 Sacramento State, 20-3, in a matchup between first-year head coaches.

During the Division I era of Jackrabbit football (since 2004), South Dakota State has played 35 games against current members of the Big Sky Conference, compiling a
21-14 overall record. Of the 35 games, 11 have been contested in the FCS playoffs, with the Jackrabbits posting a 7-4 mark.

Following is a list of Jackrabbit records against Big Sky opponents since 2004:

  • UC Davis: 6-1 (1-0 in playoffs)
  • Cal Poly: 3-6
  • Eastern Washington: 0-1 (0-1 in playoffs)
  • Montana: 2-4 (2-2 in playoffs)
  • Montana State: 5-2 (2-1 in playoffs)
  • Northern Arizona: 1-0 (1-0 in playoffs)
  • Northern Colorado: 2-0
  • Sacramento State: 2-0 (1-0 in playoffs)

Note: SDSU, UC Davis, Cal Poly and Northern Colorado were all members of the Great West Football Conference between 2004-11.

YEAR 22 IN FCS: The 2025 season marks the 22nd year South Dakota State has competed in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Since joining the Division I ranks in 2004, the Jackrabbits have compiled a 185-82 record (.693 winning percentage).

In the decade of the 2020s, SDSU has put together a 61-10 record, which is good for an .859 winning percentage.

MVFC HISTORY: The 2025 season marks South Dakota State’s 18th as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Since joining the league in 2008, SDSU is the only program in that span to not have a losing season in conference play.

The Jackrabbits hold a 99-35 record (.739 winning percentage) in MVFC games and have won six or more league games 10 times. SDSU has claimed three league titles in a row, winning outright championships in 2022 and 2023, while finishing in a three-way tie for the top spot in 2024 with North Dakota State and South Dakota.

SDSU compiled a 23-1 record in league play over the past three seasons and put together a 19-game league winning streak from November 2021 until October 2024.

The Jackrabbits also shared league titles in 2016 and during the 2020-21 spring season.

PLAYOFF REGULARS: South Dakota State made its 15th postseason appearance in its football history in 2024, with 14 of those berths coming as a member of the Football Championship Subdivision. SDSU’s lone appearance in the NCAA Division II football playoffs came in 1979, when the Jacks dropped a 50-7 decision at Youngstown State.

The Jackrabbits have compiled a 24-13 record in the playoffs and made their 13th straight appearance in the FCS playoffs, including advancing to at least the semifinal round for the fifth season in a row and seventh time in the last eight seasons. SDSU made its first appearance in a national title game during the 2020-21 spring season, falling to Sam Houston, 23-21, then claimed its first-ever national championship in football with a 45-21 victory over North Dakota State in January 2023. The Jacks repeated as national champions during the 2023 campaign with a 23-3 victory over Montana.

SDSU advanced to the FCS national title game each of the three years it held the No. 1 overall seed in the playoff field (16 teams in 2020-21, 24 teams in 2022 & 2023).

ELITE COMPANY: South Dakota State is one of only two Football Championship Subdivision programs to reach the playoffs each of the last 13 seasons. The Jackrabbits secured the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s automatic bid to the 2024 playoffs, assuring SDSU of its 13th consecutive postseason appearance and 14th overall at the FCS level.

MVFC rival North Dakota State holds the longest active streak with 15 consecutive trips to the playoffs after gaining an at-large berth to the 2024 tournament.

RANKINGS STREAK: By being ranked either second or third in the first two Stats Perform FCS polls of the 2025 campaign, SDSU has now appeared in the top 25 of 176 consecutive media polls dating back to October 2012.

The Jackrabbits held the top spot in 29 consecutive polls from Oct. 17, 2022, until relinquishing the top spot following their regular season loss at North Dakota State on Oct. 19, 2024.

CAPTAINS: Leading the Jackrabbit football team are six captains:

All six players are first-time captains for the Jackrabbits.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS: Four South Dakota State football players received preseason recognition on the 2025 Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-America Team.

Representing the Jackrabbit offense on the second team was lineman Quinten Christensen. A junior from Wessington Springs, Christensen started all 15 games of the 2024 season at left tackle for a squad that averaged 236.1 yards per game on the ground and allowed only eight sacks the entire year.

Defensive lineman Kobe Clayborne also earned second-team team recognition following a 2024 season in which he tied for the team lead with 4.5 sacks. A starter in the final 13 games of the year, the senior from Sioux City, Iowa, finished his first season at SDSU with 34 total tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss.

Incoming transfer Julius Loughridge also earned second-team recognition as an all-purpose back. Loughridge previously excelled at the FCS level at Fordham, where he racked up 3,005 rushing yards over three seasons, including posting back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns in 2023 (1,146 yards) and 2024 (1,044). The Houston, Texas, native also caught 21 passes for 155 yards last season.

Rounding out the Jackrabbit selections was third-team long snapper Kaydon Olivia. A native of Schertz, Texas, Olivia has been a key member of SDSU’s placekicking and punting units on special teams. The Jackrabbits ranked second among FCS teams for net punting in 2024 with an average of 43.04 yards per attempt and have converted 97 percent of their extra-point attempts (138-of-142) over the past two seasons.

In addition, Loughridge has been named to the official watch list for the 2025 Walter Payton Award and Clayborne has been included on the initial listing of 2025 Buck Buchanan Award candidates. Those awards, which are presented to the top offensive and defensive players in the FCS, respectively, will be announced Jan. 3, 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee.

MASON AT THE HELM: Dual-threat quarterback Chase Mason made his first career start in the Aug. 30 season opener against Sacramento State.

A senior from Hurley, Mason was an efficient 17-of-23 passing for 190 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Gustad. He also carried 18 times for 30 net yards as he was sacked seven times.

Mason saw action in 19 games over the past two seasons while serving as an understudy to 2023 Walter Payton Award winner and two-time All-American Mark Gronowski. Mason has displayed play-making ability both throwing and running the football, including completing 17-of-26 passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 464 yards and six touchdowns a season ago.

In averaging 10.1 yards per carry in 2024, Mason broke off touchdown runs of 38 and 48 yards against Youngstown State, followed by a 66-yarder a week in the regular season matchup against North Dakota State.

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK: South Dakota State running back Julius Loughridge was honored Monday with the first Missouri Valley Football Conference Newcomer of the Week award of the 2025 season.

In his Jackrabbit debut, Aug. 30 against Sacramento State, Loughridge racked up 159 rushing yards on 22 carries to lead the South Dakota State ground game in a 20-3 home victory. Six of the Fordham transfer’s carries went for 10-plus yards, including runs of 37 in the second quarter and 32 yards in the fourth quarter.

Loughridge’s 159 rushing yards marked the most by a Jackrabbit in his debut game at the Division I level. Isaac Wallace previously held the mark at 118 yards on 24 attempts with a touchdown in SDSU’s victory at Kansas in the 2015 season opener.

Heading into the week, Loughridge leads active FCS running backs in career rushing yards with 3,281.

STADER NEARS MILESTONE: Kicker Eli Stader enters the week four points away from 500 for his career.

A native of Cedar Grove, Wisconsin, Stader spent the first five years of his collegiate career at Northwestern College (Iowa), where he was a four-time all-Great Plains Athletic Conference selection and an NAIA All-American in 2024. He set school records with 62 field goals and 300 extra points at Northwestern, while adding a two-point conversion. Stader connected on five field goals of 50 or more yards, including a school-record 60-yarder in 2024.

In his debut with the Jackrabbits on Aug. 30, Stader scored eight points by going 2-for-4 on field goals and making both extra-point attempts. His field goals covered 22 and 28 yards.

BLANKING THE OPPOSITION: Five Jackrabbit victories during their run of success during the 2020s have come by way of a shutout.

SDSU’s most recent shutout was a 41-0 whitewashing at Southeastern Louisiana on Sept. 21, 2024. The game against Southeastern Louisiana was also the middle of a three-game stretch in which the Jackrabbits did not allow a touchdown, sandwiched between a 24-3 victory over Augustana and a 41-3 win at Northern Iowa.

In repeating as national champion in 2023, the Jackrabbits posted a trio of shutouts — two of which came in playoff games. SDSU notched a 34-0 victory at Youngstown State late in the 2023 regular season before recording home shutouts against Mercer (41-0) and Albany (59-0) as the Jackrabbits outscored the opposition by a 146-15 margin in the postseason.

The first SDSU shutout of the decade was a 44-0 victory at Indiana State to open the Missouri Valley Conference season in 2021.

COORDINATORS RETURN: While the entire coaching staff turned over between the 2024 and 2025 seasons, several coaches with ties to South Dakota State will once again be on the Jackrabbit sideline, including all three coordinators.

Offensive coordinator Eric Eidsness is back for his third stint in the role. Eidsness, who also coaches the quarterbacks, served as the Jackrabbits’ offensive coordinator on two previous occasions — from 1999 until 2003 while SDSU competed at the NCAA Division II level and again from 2010-18. The Jackrabbits made seven straight trips to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs to close out his second go-around, including back-to-back semifinal berths in 2017 and 2018.

He also held the title of associate head coach under John Stiegelmeier from 2015-18.

With Eidsness directing the offense, the Jackrabbits have posted prolific numbers in both the running and passing games. SDSU has consistently re-written the record book under Eidsness’ watch, including establishing 28 new single-game, season and career marks during the 2016 campaign and 15 more in 2017. Among the team records set in 2017 were scoring (521 points), total offense (6,141 yards) and total offense per game (438.6), the last of which had stood for 66 years (437.7 ypg in 1951).

Most recently, Eidsness worked in similar coaching roles for six seasons at Northern Illinois. The Huskies played in three bowl games, including posting wins in the Camilla Bowl in 2023 and the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in 2024.

Defensive coordinator Brian Bergstrom is back in Brookings after a three-year stint as head coach at Winona State. He previously was a member of the Jackrabbit defensive coaching staff for five seasons.

Bergstrom first joined the SDSU coaching staff in 2017 as safeties coach and was promoted to co-defensive coordinator in 2019, positions he held through the 2021 season under John Stiegelmeier. SDSU qualified for the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs each of his five seasons in Brookings, including a national title game appearance during the 2020-21 spring season and semifinal berths in 2017, 2018 and the 2021 fall campaign.

Special teams coordinator Isaiah Jackson is new to the SDSU coaching staff, but played linebacker for the Jackrabbits from 2006-09. He ranked fifth on the team with 63 tackles in 2008 and tied for seventh with 52 stops as a senior in 2009, when the Jackrabbits made their first-ever appearance in the FCS playoffs.

For the past eight seasons, Jackson served on the coaching staff at UC Davis, which won a Big Sky Conference championship in 2018 and earned berths in the FCS playoffs three times (2018, 2021, 2024). He primarily coached the linebackers before moving to special teams coordinator in 2024.

In addition, tight ends coach Vince Benedetto also is a former Jackrabbit student-athlete. He lettered from 2010-13 before embarking on a successful coaching career at the high school level, highlighted by winning a state championship at Sioux Falls Jefferson in 2022.

THE 12TH MAN: South Dakota State has benefited from large crowds coming off the program’s back-to-back national championships. In 2023, the Jackrabbits averaged 18,208 fans for regular season games, followed by another record-setting year in 2024 with an average attendance of 18,504 over six regular season home games.

Four games in each of the past two seasons have been sellouts, starting when 19,332 fans came out the for Sept. 9, 2023, showdown against Montana State. The crowd played a big role in the game, helping factor in nine false-start penalties by Montana State in the game, including six in the final quarter.

The 2023 Dakota Marker game against North Dakota State, which was a rematch from the 2022 FCS national championship game, drew a stadium-record 19,431 fans.

SDSU also set program playoff attendance records in all three postseason games it hosted in 2023, highlighted by a crowd of 12,265 in the semifinals against UAlbany.

Large crowds continued to fill Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in 2024 as the first four Jackrabbit home games of season were sellouts and rank in the top nine for most-attended games in facility history. The Oct. 26 Interstate Series game versus South Dakota attracted 19,351 fans, making it the fifth-largest crowd in the nine-year history of the venue.

Following suit, the 2025 season opener also was announced as a sellout, with 19,163 fans filing into the stadium. That came two nights after a crowd of about 22,000 attended the Jacks Bash 3 concert featuring country music stars Ty Myers, Thomas Rhett and Blake Shelton.

DANA J. DYKHOUSE STADIUM: Jackrabbit football moved into a new home in September of 2016 with the completion of Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

The stadium, which was constructed in phases on the site of SDSU’s previous home field, Coughlin-Alumni Stadium, seats 19,340 spectators and cost $65 million to build. Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium is being funded through private gifts and long-term revenue streams, including concessions and suite, loge box and ticket sales. Bonds are financing nearly two-thirds of the project’s construction, with the remaining dollars coming from private support.

Lead gifts totaling $12.5 million from former Jackrabbit football player and Sioux Falls banker Dana Dykhouse and philanthropist T. Denny Sanford were announced in October 2013.

The stadium officially opened Sept. 8, 2016, featuring a concert by country music stars Luke Bryan, Little Big Town and Lee Brice as part of the Jacks Bash opening weekend. The first football game was two days later, on Sept. 10, when the Jacks defeated Drake, 56-28.

SDSU has gone on to post a 62-7 record at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium during its 10 seasons of operation, including a 16-1 mark in FCS playoff games. The Jacks’ current home winning streak is 30 games (including playoff games), with their last home loss a 26-17 setback to Northern Iowa on Oct. 23, 2021. The 30-game streak is the longest active home winning streak in FCS and tied with Montana (1994-97) for the sixth-longest in FCS history.

In 2023, the Jackrabbits completed their fifth undefeated season while playing at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, compiling an 8-0 record. SDSU previously posted perfect home records in 2018 (7-0), the 2020-21 spring season (5-0) and both 2022 and 2023 (9-0).

Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium was designed by Kansas City-based Crawford Architects, with the construction firm JE Dunn serving as the project manager at risk and Henry Carlson Company of Sioux Falls serving as general contractor.

JACKS IN THE PROS: With the start of the 2025 National Football League season right around the corner, six former South Dakota State standouts appear on opening day rosters, continuing the Jackrabbits’ long tradition of developing players into pro prospects.

Headlining the list are a pair of tight ends — Dallas Goedert of the Philadelphia Eagles and Tucker Kraft of the Green Bay Packers.

After being selected in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Goedert has gone on to record 349 receptions for 4,085 yards and 24 touchdowns in seven seasons. He won a Super Bowl ring with the Eagles last season after recording 42 receptions during the regular season and adding 17 more catches during the postseason run.

Kraft put together a breakthrough second season with the Packers in 2024, tallying 50 catches for 707 yards and seven touchdowns. He was a third-round draft choice of Green Bay in 2023 and turned in a strong second half to his rookie season, finishing the year with 31 catches for 355 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Linebacker Christian Rozeboom earned a Super Bowl ring with the Los Angeles Rams during the 2021 season and is now in his first season with the Carolina Panthers. A starter in both 2023 and 2024 with the Rams, Rozeboom totaled 214 tackles and two interceptions over the last two seasons, including a 135-stop campaign in 2024.

SDSU had two players selected in the NFL Draft in 2024 when Mason McCormick was taken in the fourth round by Pittsburgh and Isaiah Davis was a fifth-round pick of the New York Jets. McCormick settled into a starting role at guard during the 2024 season while Davis saw spot duty for the Jets as a rookie, finishing the year with 30 carries for 174 yards and a touchdown, as well as notching nine receptions for 75 yards and a score. Davis also returned nine kickoffs for 232 yards (25.8 yards per return) and registered seven tackles on special teams.

Another member of the Jackrabbits’ back-to-back national championship teams, Isaiah Stalbird, is in his second season with the New Orleans Saints. Stalbird played mostly on special teams in 2024, notching three tackles.

Several other former Jackrabbit standouts were among their respective teams’ final cuts earlier week, including: quarterback Chris Oladokun (Kansas City), running back Pierre Strong, Jr. (Cleveland), cornerback Dalys Beanum (New Orleans) and running back Amar Johnson (Green Bay). Beanum and Oladokun have since returned to their fall camp teams on the practice squad, while Johnson recently signed as a practice squad player with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Leading the list of Jackrabbit pro football alumni are Hall of Famer Jim Langer and the NFL’s career scoring leader, Adam Vinatieri.

Langer who played football at SDSU from 1967-69 and also was an All-American in baseball, played center on every offensive down during the Miami Dolphins’ perfect season in 1972. He was a first-team All-Pro four times and was selected to play in six Pro Bowl games. He played in three Super Bowl games with the Dolphins from 1970-79 before finishing his career with the Minnesota Vikings from 1980-81. Langer passed away in September 2019.

Vinatieri wrapped up his playing career after becoming the NFL’s all-time scoring leader in 2018 as a member of the Indianapolis Colts. Over Vinatieri’s 24 seasons from 1996-2019, his totals include NFL bests of 599-of-715 on field goal attempts, 83.8 percent, and 2,673 career points. He also ranks second in career extra points with 874.

In all, Vinatieri set 15 NFL records, including 21 100-point seasons.

DAN JACKSON SHOW: The Dan Jackson Show airs throughout the 2025 season.

The weekly, hour-long show originates in front of a live audience at 6 p.m. Mondays at Cubby’s Sports Bar and Grill in downtown Brookings. Hosted by Tyler Merriam, the show airs along the Jackrabbit Sports Network, including flagship station WNAX 570 AM, and can be heard through the Jackrabbit app and online at GoJacks.com. In addition to radio, broadcasts also will be available for free live viewing on SDSU Athletics’ Facebook and YouTube accounts (@GoJacksSDSU), as well as Midco Sports Plus. Replays of the shows will be televised on Midco Sports linear channels Tuesdays at 6 p.m. and Saturdays at 9 a.m.

Weekly segments include interviews with Jackrabbit coaches, student-athletes and others associated with SDSU football. Fans can submit questions through social media platforms and fans in attendance can register for weekly prizes.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits return to home action by hosting Drake in the 58th Beef Bowl. Kickoff for the Jacks in Black game is set for 6 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

-GoJacks.com-