South Dakota State has been awarded the No. 3 seed for the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. The 24-team field was announced Sunday, with the two-time defending national champion Jackrabbits receiving a first-round bye.
SDSU, 10-2 overall and the automatic qualifier from the Missouri Valley Football Conference, will host a second-round game Dec. 7 against the winner of Saturday’s opening-round matchup between Tennessee State (9-3) and 14th-seeded Montana (8-4). Kickoff for the Jackrabbits’ playoff opener is tentatively set for 1 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
The Jackrabbits will be making their 13th consecutive appearance in the FCS playoffs and 14th overall. SDSU has earned a top-eight seed seven of the last eight seasons and won back-to-back national championships in 2022 and 2023.
As the top seed, the Jackrabbits are in line to host at least two playoff games leading up to the Jan. 6 FCS National Championship Game in Frisco, Texas. The playoff schedule is as follows:
Nov. 30 – First-round games (Top eight seeds receive byes)
Dec. 7 – Second-round games
Dec. 13/14 – Quarterfinals
Dec. 21 – Semifinals
Jan. 6 – FCS National Championship Game; Frisco, Texas
Tickets for SDSU’s Dec. 7 playoff game will go on sale at 1 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 24) through JackrabbitTickets.com, with pricing starting at $10. Current Jackrabbit season ticket holders have until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 3 to claim their same seats for the playoff opener. Any unclaimed season tickets, including those for premium seating areas, will be available for purchase by the general public at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 4.
TOP EIGHT SEEDS
1. Montana State (12-0)
2. North Dakota State (10-2)
3. South Dakota State (10-2)
4. South Dakota (9-2)
5. UC Davis (10-2)
6. Incarnate Word (10-2)
7. Mercer (10-2)
8. Idaho (9-3)
FIRST-ROUND MATCHUPS
UT Martin (8-4) at No. 16 New Hampshire (8-4) [winner to No. 1 Montana State]
Lehigh (8-3) at No. 9 Richmond (10-2) [winner to No. 8 Idaho]
No. 12 Illinois State (9-3) at Southeast Missouri State (9-3) [winner to No. 5 UC Davis]
Drake (8-2) at No. 13 Tarleton State (9-3) [winner to No. 4 South Dakota]
Tennessee State (9-3) at. No. 14 Montana (8-4) [winner to No. 3 South Dakota State]
Eastern Kentucky (8-4) at No. 11 Villanova [winner to No. 6 Incarnate Word]
Central Connecticut State (7-5) at No. 10 Rhode Island (10-2) [winner to No. 7 Mercer]
Northern Arizona (8-4) at No. 15 Abilene Christian (8-4) [winner to No. 2 North Dakota State]