The wind didn’t make it easy, but the South Dakota State football team is moving on.
The top-ranked Jackrabbits (13-0) earned a 23-12 win over No. 8 Villanova (10-3) in the FCS quarterfinals on Saturday. The victory marks 27 straight wins for SDSU, dating back to last season’s national title-winning team. They haven’t lost a game to an FCS opponent since 2021.
It wasn’t the offense or the defense who got things going for South Dakota State on Saturday, but the special teams unit. Villanova’s first drive stalled from deep in their own territory and the Wildcats were forced to punt. The kick deflected off a Villanova player and the Jackrabbits recovered inside the red zone. That turned into the first three points of the game.
Special teams came up big yet again in the second quarter when Villanova had all the momentum on its side. But Matthew Durrance stole momentum right back to the home team’s side when he broke through the line, blocked a Villanova punt and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown. SDSU never gave the lead back after that.
The offense finally got going in the second half, posting 279 of the team’s total 343 yards on the day over the final two quarters.
Mark Gronowski passed for 101 yards, going 11-for-19 and tossing a touchdown. Isaiah Davis led the Jackrabbits on the ground with 192 rushing yards and found the end zone once. His scoring run of 66 yards early in the fourth quarter was the nail in the coffin for the Wildcats.
SDSU will host the FCS semifinal against either No. 4 Idaho or No. 5 Albany. That game is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 15, at 6 p.m. ESPN 2 will broadcast the game.