2021 NCAA FCS Championship First Round - Holy Cross vs South Dakota State

[Music] while they've had plenty of fcs playoff success in brookings before south dakota state has never won the national title but this season they're the top seed with the crusaders of holy cross looking to pull off the upset it's coming up next well better late than never in late april 2021 we bring you the first round of the 2020 fcs playoffs from brookings south dakota the top-seeded jackrabbits of south dakota state take on the crusaders of holy cross taking a look at the side of the bracket with the crusaders and jackrabbits winner of this game today gets either weaver state or southern illinois perhaps in two weeks a match-up between the jack rabbits in the fourth seed of jacksonville state though delaware and sacred heart will certainly have much to say about that those two teams go at it tonight in newark delaware hi everyone david salzman alongside craig harbert well i mean we're in april covet obviously has affected all of fcs football but maybe no more team than holy cross we talked to their coaching staff and they said back in january they swore they wouldn't be able to get the season in now three months later not only did they do that but undefeated and patriot league champions this year has been challenging for a lot of people and holy cross was really no exception you go back to the fall they only had two dozen players local and then going into january as you mentioned they didn't think they'd get the season going only played three games but they've made the best of the situation and have gotten themselves into the playoffs we have two great true freshman quarterbacks on display today for holy cross matthew siluca wasn't the starter early but as the season's gone on we've seen more of him and since the second half of their second game of the year against fordham when he ran for two touchdowns he has not given up the reigns as their starter a two sport athlete in high school he has really become a spark plug for this offense and watching him on film what really stands out to me is his rushing ability great agility and toughness and david i'm always hesitant to make this comparison but i watch him he reminds me of tim tebow at florida the way that he ran the football holy cross looking to pull up the upset against south dakota state we're used to seeing the jackrabbits this is their ninth straight fcs playoff appearance but if we look at their resume we mentioned the top seed at five and one and that came after going up to fargo one week ago and upsetting their nemesis in north dakota state you want to talk about heading into the playoffs with some momentum beating north dakota state who has been the fcs power to be able to get here as the number one seed they've had some challenges as well their head coach told us they had 117 practices of some sort before they played that first game but they drilled down on the little things and it's led them to a situation where the born see markanovsky didn't have to wait until midway through the season to become the starter he was named the starter before the season opener and you see those numbers his last two games but overall dynamic enough to be as a freshman the missouri valley offensive player of the year and newcomer and rookie of the year as well the only other player in this conference to ever do that was north dakota state quarterback trey lance who was poised to be the first round pick in this coming week's nfl draft so that's certainly good company to be a part of we have two good quarterbacks today but the big matchup may be south dakota state's running game which is one of the best in the fcs against one of the best rushing defenses in holy cross for the jack rabbits on the ground pierre strong leads the way well gronowski will contribute to that ground attack but it all starts with the junior pierre strong you see 2 000 yard seasons leading into this junior campaign obviously a short year those numbers are not there but he is a slashing runner with great vision dobbs leads the holy cross defense he was a candidate for the jerry rice award in 2019 for the best freshman in the fcs he has continued that great play this season including one week ago in the patriot league title game david if he was two inches taller we would not be talking about him right now because he would have played his season this past fall for an fbs program he's an instinctive player sideline to sideline they will need for him to have a big game if they're going to shut down this south dakota state rushing attack it will be south dakota state getting the ball first isaiah davis one of the two jackrabbits deep back derek king kicks it away and we're underway from brookings south dakota a beautiful day they're used to much colder temperatures come fcs playoff time the temperature around 50 degrees and sunny skies so right away we will see mark gronowski true freshman from naperville illinois in the chicago area and in the contest one week ago against north dakota state steady he was 10 of 14 passing for 149 in a touchdown also 126 yards on the ground including a 55-yard run to begin the drive late in the fourth quarter that put the game away and he's a player david they've really started to kind of evolve the offense around him not ask him to do as much as it passed or really rely on his athleticism and running ability [Music] [Applause] first down handoff to one of their team captains in pierre strong and you'll see those strong runs forgive the pun from the redshirt junior from little rock arkansas able to get six yards out of the carry the south dakota state team has scored on the opening drive in four of six games but going up against the holy cross defense only allowing just over 12 points a contest that is fourth best in the mcs well this is certainly a matchup of strength against strength that rushing attack of the jackrabbits against that front seven of holy cross karnowski to throw for the first time and the completion to jackson yankee we will see jackson and jaden yankee both twins sophomores from madison south dakota jackson is their leading receiver first time they put in the air nice easy pass just a little hitch route some easy underneath completions allow for gronowski to kind of build this confidence they're not going to ask him to make a lot of pre-snap reads nowhere to go with the football when he does that he certainly has the accuracy to get it there karnowski's first ever start at northern iowa he was named the stats performed fcs national freshman of the week and he has continued that play he's hammered as he delivers that football incomplete jaden yankee the closest white out so you mentioned holy cross fourth in the fcs in points allowed just over 12 a game and jacob dobbs has led the crusaders to be so good up front you see just the 44 rushing yards allowed that is second in the nation yeah only in three games but again those numbers still kind of give you a glimpse about how dominant this defense can be against the run game and that front four we've talked a lot about dobbs here early on but they've got a really strong front four that can maintain gap integrity also get penetration karnowski strings it out to strong and third and very manageable just past the 40. and that's one aspect of pierre strong coming into this year a thousand yard season as a rusher as a freshman as a sophomore but a big part of his game is his ability of as a target out of the backfield tremendous ball skills so he really is kind of a dual threat whether he's getting the hand off or coming out of the back so you have to account for him whenever he's on the field season high 50 yards receiving for strong last week and you see south dakota state still get a time of possession that's one reason why converting 45 percent of their thirds blitz catch made jackson yankee and brought down short about a couple of yards shy of the marker in their best quarter john smith jr from lake worth florida makes the stop in that situation you got to be aware of where the marker is you see yankee is coming across but a little bit shallow of it and a nice tackle by smith does not allow him to turn up field to pick up that first you would think so important for holy cross to get the yearly stop obviously the big underdog today against the top seeds this is their second straight fcs playoff appearance phil the monmouth in the first round in 2019 ben dinkle jr from kearney nebraska not a great punt [Music] [Applause] will take the nice roll and holy cross will have their first possession inside their own 20. matthew saluka ran the scout team in the fall true freshman from locust valley new york and their head coach bob chesney said he looked like johnny manziel out there when you run scout team you're you're not watching guys like seleuca so much but players kept coming up to chesney and his coaching staff and said we have something special in number nine he's the patriot league rookie of the year finalist for the jerry rice award for the best freshman in the fcs well he took an opportunity on scout team david to do things that caught the coach's attention and eventually kind of work his way up and even though it's been a small sample size in only three games the coaches feel that his development has really kind of been organic one play in that first game a little bit more action their second game and then he played the entire patriot league championship game against bucknell handoff on first down and peter oliver is brought down for a short game junior from auburn massachusetts second team all patriot league this season player down for holy cross and the whistles blow well that's grady smith their left tackle who is in for brian foley who is a grad transfer already has announced he'll be playing in duke in the fall but he's been banged up so holy cross may be down to their third string left tackle and mike pisa we talked about the holy cross defense and what they have done this season south dakota state allowing just 16 points a game first let's take a look at the injury yeah up top working against number 97 and then you know as you're moving around you just get caught from behind and you saw it was the right leg that was bent back and smith jr from mendom new jersey gonna have to be helped back to the holy cross sideline that's a shame again the depth in this left tackle spot in question for holy cross and after their first carry of the game we'll see who comes in at that left tackle spot and especially with the freshman quarterback and snuka this is an offense that kind of very much mirrors how south dakota state wants to accomplish things as well is with the grand attack and then when you lose your starting left tackle then here early on hopefully we will see smith again but already now down to your third left tackle and it is pizza kitty senior from clifton park new york at left tackle second at along eights looking to throw for the first time jalen coker pushed back forward progress to the 24. coker receiving yards leader for the crusaders coming in although they do not throw the ball very much just three points allowed on the opening drive and by the way that was in carbondale against southern illinois jack rabbits would score the next 44 in 144 to 3. [Music] they are the best in the conference on third downs opponents just converting 32 percent this season catch made for the first spencer gilliam jr from san antonio texas his fifth catch of the young season yeah a nice throw here from suku we talked about his ability as a runner but making the nice throw is that's their top receiver they've had some guys that they are missing from that receiver rotation due to injuries a little bit bare bones there but gilliam is the player who's got the speed of that unit had 38 catches in 2019. guessing away still a young season when you're playing just your fourth game of the year but now it's playoff time oliver's second carry and he gets a couple [Applause] south dakota state just allowing three and a half yards per carry this season and that defense they're going to play with four down linemen good bunch but really what their job is they come off without standing pad level they're not going to let those offensive linemen get to second level in the heart of this defense are those three linebackers they lead the team their three starting linebackers are the three leading tacklers and they expect them to kind of play sideline to sideline clean everything up [Applause] third completion for seleuca on the drive and on the bubble jack jewel knocked down at the 39 sitting up third and three you mentioned a little bubble there to get it right to them good job blocking downfield and now setting them up and this is exactly what holy cross wanted they're coming in as the underdog but putting together here this early drive getting themselves in a second situation now where they're in the third and manageable 25 capacity here in brookings which means almost 5 000 fans they can fit 19 000 in this building on the run first down for seleuca and still pushing the pile their second third down conversion of the drive a designed run there with the quarterback still a qb lead seleuco does a nice job there he's going to be patient he's going to let that play develop see him kind of slow down find a seam and then once he gets there you see the strength he kind of pushes that towards the first down he's getting downhill waits for something to develop and then lowers that shoulder drives those legs to make sure that they pick up the first [Applause] these are two methodical offenses we will see today 27 yards on the drive so far for the crusaders and the first set of downs again to oliver in his best run into jack rabbit territory and they'll mark him right at the marker should be enough to move the chains oliver is a big powerful back six foot 220 pounds he's gonna break an arm tackle in the backfield off penetration able to get to the second level then lower that shoulder his father is this head strength coach there at holy cross so you know that peter knows his way around the weight room and he runs like it jeff has been the head strength and conditioning coach for holy cross athletics for 25 years jeff played two seasons for the new york jets they just gave oliver nine on the [Music] [Applause] carry fake to oliver in trouble and this is what he can do scrambling with his feet and past the 35. the average is 6.9 yards a carry sixth in the fcs yeah you see on the reed he pulls it gets out to the edge and a nice job here of not forcing it you're putting together a good opening drive doesn't try to force the football downfield tucks it picks up the positive yardage one thing their coaches told us was just how steady and calm he is and he has face pressure already in this stride and has looked quite steady at his position yeah they said he doesn't flinch [Applause] straight run this time trying to bounce it out and maybe a yard good pursuit that was don gardner preventing him from turning the corner senior corner from chicago [Music] and maybe a little bit too much patience here should have tried to got it but a really nice job there defensively you saw number 46 preston tetzloff kind of step up fill the seam forcing sluca to have to kind of go towards the sideline not a lot of room there to run and he talked about the pursuit of the defense holding him to a minimal gain five and a half minutes on the drive so far opening drive for holy cross [Applause] oliver took a lick and still was able to move forward maybe for a yard more but it's gonna be third and seven as the whistles blow and oliver lost his helmet on the contact [Music] number 32 adam bach of mike linebacker for that south dakota state defense hitman he got downhill and him and oliver had a nice collision there but this is the first time in this drive david we're there now a little bit behind the chains in the third and long situation see the 12th play of the drive coming and there are three patriot league games crusaders just averaged 17 pass attempts a contest luca already with three completions but he needs seven here he'll call timeout as the play clock is down to three crowd perhaps a factor already in this one matthew luca wants to talk things over with his coach south dakota state has been seated in the fcs playoffs the last five seasons but never have they been the top seed until now taking on a holy cross team of their 125th season of football and bob chesney what a job he's done holy cross's second straight patriot league championship after a 10-year drought he's won everywhere he's been to cover division three salve regina after eight straight losing campaigns win 23 and nine and three seasons led division two assumption college the three straight ncaa appearances before making his way to western massachusetts third and seven for holy cross from the south dakota state 32 [Music] 12th play of the drive coming man open deep and overthrows gilliam [Applause] and they had it there david tremendous protection young quarterback had all to all the time he needed but just put a little bit too much into that overthrows his target downfield i love what bob chesney just did goes up to his freshman quarterback puts his arm around him tells him to relax has to be happy with how that drive went overall and for perspective this was he came into this game with only 14 pass attempts this is not a young man with a lot of experience passing at the college level derrick ing hit from 51 earlier this season a holy cross record this 49 yarder is blocked in the track rabbits hole a drive of over six minutes but no points for the crusaders jack rabbits with a football when we return [Music] jack rabbits hold after the block of the derrick ing field goal we'll take a look at it and looks like craig it's reese winkelmann that came through to get his hand on the football yeah you see them come off low get their hand up also number 98 ryan van marl also in there and when you're kicking from that distance david you really want the football to pop off from your foot but you got to drive it more with a 49-yarder and that means your trajectory initially is a little bit lower and you get a push like that up the middle like south dakota state did that leads to the block kranowski has the capability of breaking these runs for even longer than that mentioned the 55-yard run late in fargo last week that he'll put the game away that's first down yardage on the first play on their second drive let's bring him along on on the sweep get him out on the edge using that athleticism they start off because of the block kick with outstanding field position now and an opportunity here with another new set of downs and close to crossing midfield already 14 total touchdowns for gronowski this season this is strong and just barely into holy cross territory jason modak junior defensive tackle from wayne new jersey one of the crusaders there so we've seen pierre strong today and you look at his numbers he missed the southern illinois game in which isaiah davis ran for 150 yards and three touchdowns three great weapons in the backfield for these jackrabbits and what's interesting is two of them are freshmen davis and gronowski both true freshmen [Applause] look to cut it outside and then to cut inside means space on the edge that's all pierre strong on that run into the red zone yeah an outstanding cut initially they did a nice job of getting downhill filling the initial hole that strong was looking to hit you're gonna watch him bounce it right here the nice cut inside get to the side and then watch gronowski number 11. he was downfield blocking as well love to see that from your quarterback 33 yards for pierre strong had a 53-yard touchdown last week [Applause] [Music] from the 16. strong again the cut inside this time not as successful liam durham junior linebacker makes the tackle but he's finding ways to create yards when nothing is initially there it's a tremendous lateral movement he's a he's a big back as well 5 11 210 pounds talked about the success that he has gronowski was named freshman of the year in the missouri valley conference pierre strong was as well two years ago certainly a talented backfield that the jack rabbits have put isaiah davis number 22 is now in there in that mix as well we've got a three-headed monster [Applause] grenowski to the end zone touchdown [Music] [Applause] blake coons with the catch but there is a flag on the far side of the field from us in front of the holy cross sideline this may be coming back we'll see if there was an offensive lineman down field because initially he kind of started to head up feel like he was going to run then stopped and through [Applause] inevitable it started off initially like it was going to be kind of a quarterback lead and then he let coons kind of clear and then he threw it watch him initially looks like he's going to set it up for a run he's a little hesitant a little hides it in he sees coons break and then he throws it and you see right there in the middle of your screen your your offensive lineman downfield you know you get that run pass option it'd be a little bit difficult for those big guys to know where those three yards are and points taken off the board as a result as the left tackle aaron johnson downfield and instead of the touchdown second down and ten jack rabbits will not be penalized much they're 20 of 21 on their red zone drives this season scoring a touchdown two-thirds of the time fake to isaiah davis and gernowski the keeper moves his way to the 11th both the thing i love about both of these young quarterbacks on both team and gronowski and suka is hey they run hard and as they mature and get older i'm sure both of these coaching staffs are going to say hey take less hits but right now you know they're young and they're feisty and they both play really physical and we saw some tough running there setting up this third down from gronowski you see the stat again best and what most people feel is the best fcs conference in the country missouri valley and of course one of the best red zone percentages in all of the fcs [Applause] on third down greneski to throw to the end zone touchdown jackson yankees fifth touchdown catch of the season in the jackrabbit strike first gronowski a big target six foot two two ten he is a primary target uh yonki you seem very clear as granowski was looking in the entire way he's able to create the space and get the score both he and his twin brother jaden stars at madison high school in madison south dakota three straight state titles came to south dakota state late just before their freshman year had to come here as walk-ons initially recruited as linebackers right and now coming in the two leading receivers on this squad john stiglemeyer told his team earlier this week we need to prove we're the number one seed and after their block field goal they drive downfield for the first score of the game seven nothing jacks 25 capacity mandated by the ncaa for these first run matchups goes up to 50 in the quarterfinals and if the jackrabbits could win they know they will host either weber state or southern illinois next weekend we just saw the touchdown throw to jackson yankee he and his twin brother jayden over 600 yards receiving this season jackson didn't have a catch in the win over north dakota state last week jayden had a couple on their first scoring drive instant impact and was john stiglemeyer happy with the yucky twins told them just a few weeks before their freshman season can we come play for you it was really interesting they initially were recruiting them south dakota state as linebackers and didn't want to do that they went back out started to feel things out again on the recruiting trail and as you mentioned david really right before season started they came back to him and said you know wait listen we want to play receiver but we still want to come to south dakota state obviously it was a smart move by the jack rabbits to bring them on as they have become a big part of this offense jackson freshman all-american for the jackrabbits last season a season in which they were upset in the first round or rather the second round after getting a buy by northern iowa second drive of the game for holy cross first a whistle delay a game just before the first down snap [Applause] so we saw bob chesney again after seleuca had spencer gilliam open for a short touchdown and missed him put his arm around him probably told him to relax a bit on this big stage see how they respond and drive number two good run on first down as it'll be second down and manageable for holy cross nice run by tyler purdy get back some of what they lost obviously that first drive did not come away with points had success though because they were able to stay ahead of the chains a little difficult to do that when you start your drive off with a penalty [Applause] that dropped by purdy was a forward pass so incomplete party sophomore from chesterfield missouri peter oliver with the bulk of the carries on holy cross's first drive which took over six minutes but now looking to avoid going three and out they need seven and as you mentioned correct this is an offense that would much rather run the ball than throw it this is a south dakota state defense it doesn't bring a lot of pressure they'll depend on that front four but it's a very good front four they just bring three seleuca catch mane third third down conversion of the corner although ball came loose and let's see what the ruling is jack jewell made the grab and our big south conference officiating crew talking things up rolling on the field that the runner was down part of the ball coming loose first down so bob chesney's team keeps the football after the jewel reception a really nice job against his own defense of finding that soft spot and then it looked like in real time that he was down you see his back hit the ball is still there good call on the field as you mentioned david it only brought three dropped everybody else back into coverage there were not a lot of scenes but a really nice job there by the receiver of just kind of settling down giving his quarterback a target picking up a big first down [Applause] some trickeration the throw down feel though is gonna be well over the head incomplete and that was purdy i believe it was jalen coker on the throw and he had pressure in his face as he delivered it the opportunity was there just like it was on the first drive they're gonna throw it he's gonna be wide open to see a lot of air underneath that football though and obviously tough doesn't throw a lot of passes tough situation but you know we still got a lot of football to play in this game but i think as holy cross looks back at this first quarter they're going to think of two opportunities that they had for big plays for points on the board missed with aaron throws in addition to their block field goal on drive number one oliver back on the field and nothing doing might have gotten a yard number 46 preston tetzloff a captain and number 32 adam bach both there adam bach was a monster in that win over north dakota state a week ago he had double-digit tackles by the time they had gotten to the half and you see him kind of just scraping getting downhill number 46 taking them on low and see many helmets to the football [Music] it's all puck number 32 13 tackles in the big win in fargo one week ago pressure on seleuca incomplete tried to throw across his body for coker and it's for dinner yeah dangerous don't throw across your body into the middle of the field there was pressure nice job there by sluco being able to avoid it but once he got to the edge nothing there and kind of throws it up you're going to see we just talked about bach coming right up the middle the athleticism of slucker is able to avoid it but ultimately nothing to come of it patrick hogney sophomore from verona new jersey averaging just under 41 yards a punt and jackson yankee the big punt return last saturday that led to south dakota state's second quarter field goal had a punt return for a scorer the 2019 campaign against long island they'll let this ball go and it just gets into the end zone for the touch bed [Applause] 17 seconds to go first quarter a seven nothing lead for john stickelmeyer's jack rabbits everyone here calls him coach stig 64 year old a brookings life her 24th season as south dakota state head coach graduated from here in 1979 when he was a student assistant see the ninth straight fcs postseason appearance jack rabbits are 71-31 in missouri valley conference play arguably the best conference in the fcs since they joined the league in 2008. yeah the only team they trail in active playoff streak at north dakota state so their rival up the road certainly great company to be and he has built this program from a division two program that to be honest with you was not a division two power they were kind of a middle of the pack division two team but since they've elevated to the fcs level he's done an outstanding job of really just building up this program to what they are now and their number one seed in the playoffs isaiah davis with space and pierre strong's backup able to get into holy cross territory strong's 33-yard run on the jack rabbit's last drive set them up in the red zone and here the freshman from joplin missouri isaiah davis with a big run on the first play of this drive some nice feat by dave you see him just dancing in a hole being patient waiting for some daylight to open then he hits him he was a gatorade player of the year in the state of missouri david big time pickup on the recruiting trail for the jack rabbits and contributing as a true freshman 41 yards on the run by isaiah davis to end the first quarter holy cross coming in only allowing 44 rushing yards a game south dakota state though up front and running the ball the big stories of quarter number one south dakota state before the season picked to finish third of the missouri valley behind north dakota state and northern iowa not only were the conference champs the number one seed in this season's fcs playoffs now this was a story we talked about at the top craig harbert bob chesney's defense allowing 44 rushing yards a game but in the first quarter 93 on the ground for the jackrabbits and gronowski looking to go deep in the first play of the second quarter over shoots jackson yankee tried to take a shot there outstanding protection up front this offensive line which obviously powers that outstanding run game doing a nice job in protection but i think for the young quarterback gronowski who's been outstanding this year but where he kind of excels right now in the passing games more short to intermediate passes see there not being able to find the touch on the deep ball and both of these young quarterbacks struggling here early and limited opportunities with the ball downfield just over a thousand yards passing for garnowski and their six regular season games too your point [Music] davis in the backfield gets the call on second and ten just past the 35. [Music] you mentioned how he was the missouri gatorade player of the year at joplin high school in joplin missouri 45 touchdowns his senior year of high school 36 is junior year over 2000 yards rushing as a senior amazing that he was able to get out of the state of missouri and we've seen here on this on this field some outstanding evaluating by the south dakota state coaching staff and gronowski who they pulled out of illinois and davis who they got out of missouri to the ground on third and five and davis may have enough for the first [Applause] he's got a bit of an upright running style 6-1 but he's not really got nice feet really good if he keeps those things moving [Music] see initially he's going to kind of get downhill but not much there keep those feet moving slide to his left find some daylight then push for the first down so they're over 100 yards on the ground now averaging 233 on the ground per game sixth in the fcs coming in but they've been over 300 yards on the ground three times including 305 in fargo last week [Music] this is what they do fresh set of downs from the 29. [Applause] granowski to throw hit as he throws and short incomplete looking for jackson yankee again [Music] really lucky there that defender was bearing down on him from his blind side did not see it lucky to get that pass if you're going to see him coming from the backside number 92 dan kuznetsov and hits him just as he throws it lucky didn't get a piece of that because that could have sputtered a little bit more potentially led to an interception falls short maybe a little bit of the jersey held by terence spence but no flag and now second and ten [Applause] [Music] [Applause] swinging it up to strong first down into the red zone [Applause] this is what he does best he talked about the little swing pass a short intermediate we didn't get that football out of his hand really quickly you see the nice accuracy he's going to hit strong right and stride and as i mentioned earlier on he's got outstanding ball skills to be a big part of this passing attack picking up that first down [Applause] it is first and goal we're gonna capitalize the jack rabbits for the second straight time two tight end set [Music] strong [Music] the bunch of blue jerseys in front of him gets six nice push as a zone play strong does a really nice job just kind of working his way up field finding that daylight you see they're going to work to the right you see the good push they're knocking white jerseys off the football allowing strong to kind of work his way up field and then he gets behind those blue jerseys gives a little bit of push of himself strong nominated for the walter payton award for the best offensive player of the fcs they've already capitalized on their first red zone drive strong in the jacks looking to go two for two the pitch to strong that was jacob dobbs there first setting up third and goal and not able to get outside on that toss forced to cut back inside and then dobbs the anchor of that holy cross defense is there almost 100 tackles a year ago as a freshman led holy cross and tackles sacks fumble recoveries tackles for loss i know we already have three picks as well as i said in the open i mean if you put him under true measures he's probably maybe just barely six foot i think if he's six two six three he had a preferred walk-on opportunity at michigan [Music] [Applause] overshoots jaden yankee does gronowski in his fourth down a little bit of a tough throw not very far down field but to the other side of the field struggling to find that touch but he was locked into yankee the entire time so the short field goal troy coming for cole frond junior from omaha nebraska nine of 12 on the year all of his misses from 42 and deeper though two of those misses blocked it's just from 20 yards to try to put the jack rapids up 10. [Music] [Applause] back-to-back scores for the top seeds jack rabbit's number one seed in these playoffs for the very first time and looking good at home espn's coverage of the fcs championships continue next weekend with second-run coverage on espn3 espn2 and the espn app for more information go to ncaa.com the official online home for all 90 ncaa championships david salesman craig harbor from beautiful brookings south dakota i'm sure these fans we didn't like having to wait until april of course to get to the playoffs and they're for obvious reasons but typically come playoff time they're playing in temperatures in the teens maybe you get up to the 20s and 30s it's a beautiful 50 degree day city skies here in the eastern part of the mount rushmore state 10 nothing south dakota state last two drives for the jackrabbits totaling 140 yards they go 10 play 77 yards on their field goal hey taking a little bit over four minutes off the clock and really just that that whole entire drive just powered by the run game a couple of passes in there missed opportunity through the air but ultimately able to continue to cash in with some points once in the red zone you mentioned holy cross couple of chances for deep throws for touchdowns to open receivers they missed them both seleuca wanted to go deep initially and now sees plenty of running room there is a flag as luca slides down jasiya the 45 but this may be coming back [Music] the true freshman tackle from bloomfield hills michigan looking to go down field you see the hole right there grabbing the jersey right in the middle of the screen but this is one thing they're going to need to do is gets luca running a bit more right now they're getting out gained on the ground this offense especially with the young quarterback is built on the ground game [Music] and newman is playing at left tackle remember first play from scrimmage for holy cross they lost their starting left tackle and grady smith [Applause] sloka in all sorts of trouble no chance brought down shaya the 20 they'll give him the 20 but now third down in law or rather second and law [Applause] [Music] they are missing holy cross three of their best receivers from 2019 a year asante played the season opener against lehigh tinney away yeni dominic thomas have not played this season but look at the numbers from 2019 craig 99 catches yeah that's a lot of experience that you're missing that could certainly help a young quarterback as he is developing to the ground on second and long matlab quarterback first carry for the senior from whitefish bay wisconsin and then you know obviously you just you show the receivers the production that they lost and then you're in a situation here where i mean second and long is putting it nicely they're still in third and long right now and just really difficult situation to put a young quarterback in and especially an entire offense where you're at your third string left tackle and you're really not built off the pass game so certainly a difficult situation there we'll see if south dakota state actually who doesn't dial up much pressure does here yeah well luca hasn't started all season 111 passing yards total in their three patriot league games [Applause] swinging it out to purdy and it's a loss back to the 25. they just sniffed out by that south dakota state defense they saw that come and just tried to swing it out to the side number two isaiah stalberg though reads it makes the tackle and just really not a lot of options for holy cross on that drive with the initial penalty to start that series if you're just joining us holy cross had the ball for over six minutes on their opening drive and then a 49-yard derrick king field goal try blocked since then all south dakota state 10 points on their last two drives and they're about to get the ball back first return for jackson yankee and the crusaders are there just shy of the jackrabbit 40. ninth straight fcs playoff appearance for the jackrabbits looking to move on to the quarterfinals [Music] as the top seed south dakota state guaranteed home games through the semi-finals with a championship game of the fcs may 16th in frisco texas looking at the bottom part of the bracket number two sam houston led monmouth 21 nothing in the fourth needed a late interception to escape 21 to 15. north dakota state north dakota missouri state all out of the missouri valley on the opposite side of the bracket from south dakota state in addition to the 3c james madison who's top rank in both fcs polls ninth straight fcs playoff appearance for the jackrabbits second longest streak in the nation behind north dakota state granowski swings it out to tucker craft on first down the redshirt freshman tied in from timberlake south dakota gain of about [Music] see five dakota to stay those 11 consecutive playoff appearances they're hosting eastern washington today but they win they got to go down to huntsville and take on sam houston that just escaped earlier today james madison weber state rounding out the top four weber state southern illinois winner gets the winner of this one [Music] pierre strong a strong first corner and a strong run to begin the second with this quarterback ahead of him strong past the holy cross 25. hey you notice that uh david granowski his second time today i've seen him down field looking for somebody to block there's a flag down 31 yards on the run but looks to be coming back [Applause] and even with the flag craig on both the pierre strong runs first option really wasn't there but he was able to do it himself afterwards holy 56 of the offense 10-yard penalty for the spot foul replay the down and the right guard eagan lickus big gain negated by that whole you're going to see right up top so you've got to just spin the body around [Music] [Applause] so from the spot of the foul ball is now at south dakota states on 45 and it's second and five pitched to davis about a gain of ten john smith their best corner knocks them out a little toss play you got number 74 garrett greenfield first team all missouri valley conference tackle outside out there making it create a nice scene south dakota state has been just tremendous on the ground their last three southern illinois 392 second most of the fcs this season mentioned the 305 in fargo they're up to 120 already today [Music] plenty of time craft the catch [Applause] joe lane the tackle but easily a first down right off the play action right over the middle to his tight end again this is where nice job right over the linebacker's hands over the middle talked about it just watch him this is really where he excels in that kind of short intermediate part of the field gets himself set and the accuracy really kind of begins to shoot up for him as a passer a similar pass last week to blake coons to get him on the scoreboard also a tight end that pass to kraft was 19 yards strong unable to bounce it outside this time keisten lowry senior from mcdonough georgia makes the tackle a little surprised by the balanced attack so far from south dakota state no i think you know listen they know too as they go deep into these playoffs they're gonna need to be able to be balanced you know obviously they still got to finish this today they got work to do but not at all surprises she didn't try to strike that balance offensively and continue to let gronowski kind of grow as a passer he won the quarterback job this spring over two former starters jabori gibbs and keaton heidi shared duties in 2019 but we're both hurt in the fall gronowski to keep it enough to move the chains in the third straight time the jacks have been to the red zone the only option there he had was his tight end underneath decided not to go there but with him rolling out you're going to watch the defense number 44 kind of over pursue he sees the green in front of him decides to tuck it and pick up the first down [Music] granowski had 126 on the ground last week against north dakota state second leading rusher on this one behind pierre strong coming in strong met and they'll give them maybe a [Music] couple jack rabbit touchdown mark granowski finding jackson yankee late in the first quarter cole from 20-yard field goal early in the second game in the top seeds this 10-0 lead first home game for the jackrabbit since march 13. and to escape one win youngstown state on the last second field goal hasn't been completely easy sledding for the jacks to get the number one seed coming into today wide open in the end zone touchdown gronowski finds the other yankee twin this time jaden for a second touchdown catch of the season [Applause] [Applause] doing a nice job making sure things stay copacetic in a yankee household and letting each one get a touchdown pass you see him just break to the outside creates a separation and this time seems struggle at times with some of this passage right on the money gronowski to yankee yeah jackson yankee didn't have a catch last week i'm sure jayden brought that up jackson gets the first touchdown and now jaden can say hey i got one too the p-83 and it is 17-0 to the top seeds from brookings south dakota mark granowski second touchdown pass of the day in his tenth this season well trey lance is really where the intrigue begins right where it seems to be trevor lawrence won wilson about a byu too and then who's that next quarterback off the board is it going to be justin fields is it going to be trey lance is going to be mack jones trey lance was 17-0 in his north dakota state career he had 318 pass attempts in his career if you're an nfl team does that worry you somewhat i think it should i think you know talent is certainly there but lack of proof proving it there is is really difficult but we see some impressive alumni that have come out of the fcs and dallas gowdar played for john stiglemeyer here in brookings of course carson wentz starting with the eagles now with the colts out of north dakota state all those players coming from missouri valley programs five missouri valley teams in this year's fcs playoffs they got four of the six at large berths peter oliver the first down carry holy cross is we're just under four minutes to go in this second quarter with two timeouts left jack rabbits with their 17 points their last three drives only had one third down on that last drive which saw mark garnowski find jaden yankee for the touchdown throw trying to bounce it to the outside and it's different when you're going up against this defense you know we watch highlights games of him his three regular season games and often against patriot league opponents he's able to find that edge much tougher sledding against the jackrabbits here yeah he's going to try to work to the right nothing is there he cuts back you see the defense number 12 doing a nice job the leverage [Music] logan pakis wearing that number 12 senior from spirit lake iowa 4-year starter for this jackrabbit team well over 200 career tackles bob chesney's going to use the second timeout of the half come on hold across their second time out of the half this will be a 30 second timeout if you're head coach bob chesney you're feeling like you know what we we've been able to design and cultivate opportunities to kind of change the complexion of this game early on they they had twice players wide open not able to capitalize it's a really an important drive here in the as we start to get towards the end of the second quarter holy cross will get the ball first in the second half to your point trying to get some momentum going into the halftime locker room and that initial drive of the game they had success didn't come away with any points with the block field goal but they were able to move the football consistently and they did that by staying ahead of the chain so a big second down here if not pick up the first they need to at least get themselves into a third and three third and two [Applause] looking to throw on second down and a nice grab made by gilliam chesney says spencer gilliam's cut from the julian edelman cloth those made some key catches here early on and did what they kind of needed to do now they need to pick up the first but at least now in a very manageable third down situation now south dakota state just called timeout hoping to get the ball before the end of the half with more time on the clock but they call the timeout with the crusaders facing just a third and one well that's what you call confidence [Laughter] 17-nothing lead for the jackrabbits and this had to go to state defense one of the best in the nation allowing just 16 points a game ninth in the fcs and obviously going up against competition in the best conference in the nation now why not be confident i think you can hold holy cross to third and what well we talked about trey lance kate johnson opted out this spring so he could concentrate on being drafted it's very much expected hill his name will be called maybe friday definitely by saturday those are some of the top mcs prospects by todd mcshea including johnson who had 72 catches and eight touchdowns for the jackrabbits in 2019. well forward progress makes this close fans think they have stopped holy cross short all depends on the mark [Applause] that was very close i mean he kind of worked to his left a little bit looks like he may have just picked it up they haven't moved the change yet i believe that holy cross is short and that's why south dakota state has called the timeout however i believe we're going to get a measurement just in case from our vantage point yeah i mean he looks clearly short yeah from where they've placed it now initially live in a time i thought he might have pushed enough to get that you're going to see him watching work to his left trying to get forward a little bit really tough to tell there with the with the pile of bodies but by the placement it looks like he will be short peyton tetzloff one of the checks there senior from here in brookings yeah and clearly yeah [Applause] well known here his dad kevin an all-american in football his uncle mark held the scoring and rebounding records for men's basketball here at south dakota state for 25 years you know what i'm going to say this call me crazy i go for it here you know i mean listen you play three games you're down 17 nothing i know you're going to get the football back you know but if you want to make a run in the playoffs you got to be able to pick up you know a fourth in a couple inches [Music] and matthew saluka comes up short here [Applause] and certainly the two timeouts taken by south dakota state will pay dividends they'll have the ball in holy cross [Applause] territory [Applause] push back before when progress is right at the 50 it is enough to move the chains oliver lost his helmet for the second time today [Music] well they don't go under center this time they get him downhill a really nice job to see if he's able to run through an arm tackle initially still very close but able to pick up that first down you know what he's got to get that checked out because you know it's you got to leave the game when it comes off i mean that's your best running back having to constantly leave the field they had success on the ground their first drive not much since a quick throw and gilliam able to hold on again holy cross just has the one timeout left and so the clock continues to run now we're under two minutes making some substitutions on the offensive line this is a group that they will rotate on that offensive line trying to get some fresh big bodies in there gilliam's been the crusaders best receiver so far today empty set for saluka [Applause] [Music] look to run he gets the first so the clock is going to stop momentarily as the chains are moved they got that one timeout they got time to operate here at least put yourself in a position to get some points on the board [Music] derek king's long field goal this season 51 yards they are not in that range [Applause] really know when to speak of and look play clock greg is at 12. play for the game clock they're almost down to a minute now a lot of indecision here down to five now waiting for the ruling from our referee jeff page is that a sack or an incomplete pass luca well out of the pocket [Applause] there's a flag well down field past the south dakota state 30. [Applause] clock stop 50 seconds left in the second quarter big south conference officiating crew jeff page talking it over with his umpire tillman self as we await the call on the field here it comes so there's a flag also where went down the two fouls on the play one against each team potential grounding offense number nine holding defense number thirteen call for the penalty for the jack rabbit he's gonna get outside the pocket as he's going down you see him he's just gonna kind of throw it and there's nobody there he said knee is down actually he's he was knee was down before he even let go with the football so should just be down there and then obviously you have the penalty downfield i think they're going to take a look at that and i think that's what bob chesney wants if they rule that this is a sack then it's not offsetting anymore correct then holy cross can take the penalty and have the ball be moved downfield they will review the play so they'll do exactly that [Applause] [Music] they do were right on it craig i don't think great camera work too there's no question disney was down when he still had the ball in his hand [Applause] you can see him he's rolling out now you gotta watch that right knee as he's beginning to go down and it makes contact it looks like right there it's white on white with the pants and the number but it still looks pretty clear it's clear i mean it's he's beyond down it's what's what we're looking for in conclusion there you go there you go put that in the dictionary yeah i believe this call will be confirmed and again but you know just what was weird was that but the the entire just situation here because when they started that play there was a minute and a half on the clock and there was a lot of indecision for holy cross offensively and by the time they snapped that ball they were about a minute three and now we're at 50 seconds as we try to clear up here whether he was down or not in a penalty situation but holy cross we'll see what happens here but they burned a lot of time before that snap of the football and remember crusaders get the ball first to begin the second half so of course bob chesney's thinking you want seven of course but if we could point three and then get the ball to begin the third quarter chance to make it a one score game right out of the gate against the top seeds but got the timeout but they need quite a bit more yardage they did try a 49-yarder earlier in the game could not get the height it was blocked so they got to make up some ground before they can at least put their field goal kicker in a little bit better situation to try to make it this is taking more time than i thought it would i think it's more about cleaning things up in terms of the penalty and the uh ball placement than it is about the knee being down i would i would imagine to me it was pretty clear there the knee was down so as we await jeff page to tell us what will happen on the field [Applause] in fact after review was determined that the quarterback was down prior to the pass therefore there's no foul for intentional grounding however the defensive hold against number 13 we've been forced to be spot 10 yards first down it's correct so because of that holy cross is now in field goal range in field goal range with a first down so you talk about how disastrous things were just trying to get that snap off the time loss we're looking down field at the holding call that now becomes so big with you would think a sack not being a good thing actually that situation turned out to be a good thing for the crusaders ball now at the 29. [Applause] through the hands incomplete of jewel so we're now going to notch that as the third missed opportunity downfield not necessarily for a score but obviously that would have been a big play quarterback abel deliver puts it right on his receivers hands jewel just not able to bring it in mentioned earlier the three great whiteouts out for holy cross asante ayani and thomas jewell a junior really the only healthy receiver with much experience should have that one now second to ten let's look into the corner and out of bounds looking for coker and don gardner number 21 the senior outstanding coverage there really didn't give slugo much of anywhere to go with that football just through it out of bounds you have a timeout do you just run the ball here trying to make it a little easier for derek [Music] yeah i mean i think you know you don't want to just go for three i think you're still not giving yourself a gimme uh field goal opportunity either gives luker the opportunity to kind of get out the engine running himself but you got to put it up here and they are in that empty set jacks just bring three and that's behind the intended target and then holy cross wants a late hit because gilliam was hammered down to the turf but no flag and so now we'll see derek gang and the field goal unit as you mentioned he had him there a little bit behind him forcing to have to adjust a tough catch unable to make it [Applause] isaiah stulberg with the hit but no flag and so here's ing had a 49 yarder blocked on holy cross's first drive this from 47. he's got it with hopes of pulling off the massive upset did the crusaders need those three points late in the second quarter did not end pretty there for holy cross in terms of a series of plays but ultimately able to get on the board with a big kick there by ing able to shake off the block from the first quarter and deliver with the three points and the review was key remember the initial ruling of a sack on matthew sluka overturned help give the crusaders 10 points see the block there up the middle then they have an opportunity downfield overthrows his target gonna go to the double pass throws it not able to connect there either here he's gonna have a receiver hits him right in the hands through it so and that was on this current drive but ultimately able to get three points so i think if you're holding cross you're going in the locker room saying you know what we got three we've been able to design opportunities where big plays are there now we have to finish [Applause] bob chesney said in 2019 first holy cross playoff appearance with him as head coach he admitted it was a little nerve-wracking thought it'd be a little more calm perhaps for him and his team coming in just because we have a number of players back from the 2019 campaign they know what's on the line obviously they know what they're facing in the top seeds and then you see just the three points but coming late here in the second quarter to make it a 17-3 game on the squid craft is tackled just past the 35. and so the jackrabbits one timeout left 25 seconds ago second quarter we'll see what john stiglemeier decides to do weber state southern illinois awaits the winner of this one here today if southern is to win it'll be a rematch of game not long ago which saw south dakota state go down to carbondale that went 44-3 but in 2019 jack rabbits defeated northern iowa it was a blowout here in the penultimate game of the regular season but then the second round of the playoffs you and i came here and pulled up the 13-10 upset it always difficult to beat somebody twice in the same season [Applause] and it could happen next week [Applause] davis on the run [Music] and whistles blow now did holy cross use their last time now south dakota state okay south dakota wants another chance here south dakota state with 17 seconds remaining here in the second quarter cole from long is from 52. well you know i i think you come out you run the football as they did and i think if you get a big game now you change your thinking i think in this situation in terms of changing your thinking go let's take a shot because the last thing you want to do is okay our clock is down we throw it up people think oh what's the harm it gets intercepted it gets run back the last thing you want to do is put holy cross in a situation where they put a field goal up and then they create a big defensive play and score on defense and now you've completely changed the complexion of this game be interesting to see what san diego state does here now i'm thinking i'm thinking glass half empty worst case scenario but do you tempt fate by throwing it up here markowski although he doesn't put up big numbers yards-wise he's very efficient just three interceptions on the season and two coming in their lone loss which was at north dakota both co-defensive coordinators for south dakota state and the booth you just saw jimmy rogers and brian bergstrom [Music] so there's a gain of eight for davis for an offense we see a lot of two three tight end sets here got three receivers out there on the bubble it is a first so clock's going to stop as the chains are moved and santa go to state may try to down the ball quickly here ball at the crusader 46 now john stiglemeyer that clock i think started to run before the snap and man they call coach stig wants to review the clock situation now right now they're not going to review it so there's four seconds they're calling for the field goal unit which [Applause] i will i will classify you under interesting wow i mentioned cole proms long as 52. you know again we've seen it remember alabama all burned a couple of years ago again i don't know if you tempt fate here and john smith is deep back holy cross on this 63-yard attempt there's really no one to speak of this is all fromm's leg well short into the end zone [Applause] it was adventuresome in the end no points and i think i could see yeah frog probably thinks he should have that but quite out of his range santa cutter state scored the first 17 a late holy cross field goal makes it a two score game the crusaders will get the ball first to begin half number two first round of the fcs playoffs in late april 2021 pierre strong and the jackrabbits strong in the first half in a 14 point edge first time for me personally anyway to bricking south dakota and i've really enjoyed the visit and this beautiful campus of south dakota state university these jackrabbits fans like what they see on the field so far 17-3 the halftime lead over holy cross welcome back david salzman greg craig harbert so again the 17-3 lead for south dakota state holy cross looked to get the hot start early unable to get their first drive through with points and then from there jack rabbit dominant showing why they're the number one seed yeah holy cross started out really strong they were able to get south dakota state off the field on their first offensive series and then they came out offensively and were able to kind of put together a drive and really create some opportunity to get points on the board but they were unable to in the big picture and south dakota state got that running game going which really is the engine of that offense and we'll see how holy cross has really had chances to make this a closer game as we look at the first half highlights holy cross stopped south dakota state early and not a bad first drive going downfield you know they stayed ahead of the chains on that first drive they're able to move it downfield snoopy with some passes getting the run game going you see him here running tough they were able to get that field put themselves in an opportunity to get a fieldhold opportunity from 49 but the kick low they're able to block it then he has a wide open receiver downfield then they go with the trickery the double pass another receiver wide open downfield no points from either of those drives late he's got another receiver through his hands but david they were ultimately able to put three points on the board with that drive and holy cross will get the ball first to begin the second half of play for south dakota state though what a great run pierre strong 33 yards to set up their first touchdown yeah they've got a three-headed monster back there between their quarterback gronowski strong and then isaiah davis the freshman those three have been outstanding on the ground and holy cross able to go into the locker room with the field goal it's a little bit of momentum but ultimately if they're going to have success in the second half they've got to find a way to shut down that jack rabbit's rushing attack which they really struggled to do in the first half and they were also able to get some get some points on the board through the air as well and what i think what the interesting thing with south dakota state has been is the balance they're known as a rushing team they've gotten yards on the ground but they've also put it up in the air two scores to each of the yankee twins so a really nice balance in that first half 251 total yards for south dakota state in the first half of play and i mentioned a moment ago crusaders are going to get the ball first to begin the second half just how important is it for holy cross to get points early in the third i mean it's huge i mean you know listen slowing down that south dakota state running game is not going to be easy they cannot come out holy cross and get three and out they got to at least get three on the board and continue to build on that and then the other key here in the second half is either for holy cross a big play on special teams or creating a turnover south dakota state ninth straight fcs playoff appearance they made the semifinals in 2017 and 2018 but they have never made it to the title game and therefore no fcs crown but they're the top seed here in the 2020 playoffs back to brookings after this 17-3 lead at the half for south dakota state over holy cross jack rabbits haven't needed much on the ground from their quarterback because pierre strong and isaiah davis have been spectacular yeah the junior running back came into this year off of two back-to-back thousand-yard seasons he has been strong today and isaiah davis a freshman also contributing they've done a nice job of kind of keeping their feet alive and finding running lanes maybe sometimes david when things are not initially there for gronowski you're right he hasn't played a big role on the ground but has been 10 or 14 for 102 yards and two touchdowns through the air and that is where they've been able to maintain the balance offensively and if they can be balanced this is a very difficult offense to stop because they can certainly eat up time with that ground game but also create some plays down field with the passing game and as i mentioned gronowski showing a lot of accuracy today a lot of improvement as a passer 10 of 14 in that first half pierre straw the junior from little rock arkansas a nifty 33-yard run to set up the jack rabbit's first touchdown in a solid first half overall he's also had a couple of catches really strong ball skills out of the backfield a dangerous weapon and he has delivered in that first half i would expect him with this lead for them to continue to kind of feed strong and davis in the second half 17-3 the lead at the break for the top seeds from brookings south dakota first ever meeting between the jack rabbits and the crusaders 17-3 south dakota state third quarter about to get underway as we take a look at the 2020 fcs playoff bracket of course the winner of this game will get either weber state or southern illinois weber with a 14-7 lead through a quarter delaware secret heart tonight jacksonville state is rolling davidson in the fourth so the gamecocks will move on to the quarterfinals next weekend on the other side of the bracket and this certainly looks to be the the tougher side of the fcs playoff bracket you have james madison he's in the fourth quarter with vmi a 28-17 lead sam houston led 21-nothing of the fourth needed a late interception to escape monmouth 21 to 15. north dakota and eastern washington currently winning their games in the second quarter eastern washington and fargo against the jackrabbits nemesis in north dakota state holy cross blocked field goal to in that first drive but had success moving it downfield not much success since then correct yeah that first drive as i mentioned was really kind of punctuated by staying ahead of the change consistently keeping themselves in third and shorts being able to convert first downs they got themselves a field goal opportunity unable to capitalize but again they need to they're not going to really have success getting this in big chunks matthew lucas 7-13 passing 42 yards in the first half goes deep on first down and a diving grab made by gilliam a better pass and he's still going and just as they say that they take a shot downfield and a little bit off target but a nice job by gilliam of adjusting your team break outside then come back to the inside a little bit out from a little bit low does a nice job they need to make those type of plays your receivers need to help your quarterback when he's struggling a bit and they do that right there great catch by gilliam his fourth of the afternoon peter oliver good first down yardage and continues to move the pile enough to move the chains again now we talked about oliver his dad being the head strength coach there at holy cross you see some of that strong running gaining yards after contact really kind of pushing that pile and a nice start to this drive for the crusaders already the ball at the jackrabbit 34. oliver falls forward gains three on first down [Applause] you see the power of oliver he's got to get that helmet third time now in this game that has popped off and he's had to leave so he has two very nice runs and now he's got to lead the field i don't i mean equipment managers got to check that chin strap i think as a coach he's got to be driving coach chesney crazy so tyler purdy checks in who had one carry in the first half and one catch in the backfield with seleuca on second down [Applause] [Music] bernie gets the handoff wrapped up right away in a flag dam one yard gain pending the penalty we'll hear from our referee jeff page holy 75 the offense 10-yard penalty from the premier spot second down john breckie the left guard you can see the hole right there the arm across the defender's chest number 75 and this is you know it came out really that strong on this drive get the pass a couple good runs but now they're in a second and long [Music] it's like with time but will run anyway and now runs right into trouble xavier wore the senior defensive tackle from freeman south dakota the one to bring him down here ward he's really the disrupter of that group up front sooker's gonna try to get to the edge you're gonna see a nice job out here setting the edge not letting him forcing him back inside and there is davis that was number 48 quentin hicks the sophomore on the edge you forced saluka back inside and allowed ward to make the play [Music] [Applause] promising start to the drive now leads to third and 19. trouble again [Applause] to the sideline and jewel pops right out of his chest incomplete caught by a jackrabbit but out of bounds that was logan backus with the football fourth down yeah that penalty created the second and long and now into a fourth and long it's a good job here by zuka of getting out of trouble creating a second opportunity i mean it would have been short anyway but at least create a little bit better of an opportunity there in fourth down and but not able to bring it in jewel who was also the target who dropped that pass right out towards the end of the second half as well jackson yankee touchdown catch in the first half punt return for a score in 2019 patrick hockney's third punt very well placed and this will easily be the worst starting field position for south dakota state today they'll have it from their own three top seed from brookings up two touchdowns jackson yankee in a south dakota state jackrabbit's up 17-3 early in the third quarter of course yankee hoping his team wins an fcs national crown but he's already received national recognition in high school this amazing catch made number one on the sports center top 10 in 2016. yankee and his madison high school team all over previously undefeated sioux falls christian with the help of this amazing group well they think about what they've done since they've been here and then you see that catch and you remember they were initially recruited as linebackers and they told john stiglemeyer no we don't want to play linebacker they also couldn't decide between football or basketball while being recruited and that's why the recruitment into the late two weeks before the recruiting season ended they asked coach stig can we still come to south dakota state and he said yes as long as you're okay being walk-ons and now one has a full scholarship the other expected to have a full scholarship next season yaki a touchdown today his fifth of the year well between sticking to their guns for wanting to be receivers and for wanting to play football you certainly got to give those two the benefit of the doubt they've made some good decisions and for fcs receivers they have good size jackson is 6-2 210 his twin brother jaden who also has a touchdown today is 6-3 they got blessed with the size their older brother riley played at naia dakota state but wasn't as tall pierre strong is brought down that's the first time in a while we've been able to say the name of jacob dobbs easily the best defender on this holy cross team statistically yeah he's able to read it get in the backfield nice job of wrapping up he's such a key part of that defense so instinctive he sees the pulling guard is able to get in his hip pocket make that tackle put south dakota state now in the third and long six tackle for dobbs and now yeah third and long ball inside the 10. chance to force a south dakota state punt from deep in their own territory [Applause] [Music] blitz coming picked up and granowski overshoots jackson yankee oh a late flag and bob chesney and the holy cross sideline can't believe it gronowski's been able to kind of find that touch on the deep ball today they're not unable to do it too but let's see what the flag is there's no foul for passenger appearance the catch is really uncatchable fourth down that's a big turn of events because now south dakota state is going to have to put it away from their end zone and looking to take that shot downfield overthrows here you see a little bit of you know listen i i don't even know if there have been a flag if it was a catchable football i think there's just pretty good coverage there john smith along with dobbs one of the leaders of the holy cross defense in coverage he's back to return this ben dinkle punt [Applause] [Music] did smith touch the ball i believe he did and then picked up by the jackrabbits [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] it's going to be jackrabbit football from the holy cross 45. well their punter dinkle came up big when they need him he really rocketed that kick outstanding hang time pushed it past the 50. see smith he's really was not able to adjust he's eight he started in the middle of the field at the 50 had to give ground miss judges it right through his hands and then chase norblade sophomore from papillion nebraska picks up the football put that on the punter an outstanding job just driving that football smith having to adjust unable to do so and instead of starting with great field position now holy cross back on defense grinewski with time going deep jaden yankee catch made touchdown they strike one play after the turnover we talked about gronowski having trouble today kind of just finding that touch on the deep ball well if at first you don't succeed try try again there beautiful pass to number nine jaden yankee nice pocket steps into it puts it right on his receiver a beautiful throw there from the freshman to quarterback missouri valley conference offensive player of the year rookie of the year newcomer of the year delivers with the pass so a team effort there special teams leads into offense that's south dakota state jack rapids the number one seed able to extend their lead 24-3 stigle myers jack rabbits taking a 24-3 lead and taking advantage of the holy cross turnover on special teams and john smith did not expect this type of air and distance from that punt he had to give ground move towards the sideline as he did how to extend for it it goes right through his hands touches him south dakota state recovers and on that very first play they let the freshman quarterback mark granowski air it out and after struggling to find his touch on that deep ball all day here in the third quarter on that play he certainly finds it delivers a beautiful pass downfield before being offered by south dakota state gronowski's only offers were from butler and valparaiso of the pioneer league also a few offers from division two schools i wonder about the collective groan from butler and valpo when they found out that john stiglemeier offered granowski to come here yeah well he camped here in high school and he immediately made an impression the coach talked about his maturity and confidence and you see that in the way he plays and even in that throw the way he bounced back after a few misses earlier today is able to deliver there late flag [Music] late flag after the return the bowl right now at least just shy of the 30-yard line yeah mark granowski's quarterback coach zach lujan says because they've had to wait so long for the season to begin he had more practice reps than any quarterback in ncaa history not starting the season of course until late february and now three touchdowns for a garnowski all to the yankee twins two to jaden one to jackson and his team of 21. here's the call personal foul targeting 35 of the kicking team leading with the crown of his helmet it's 15-yard penalty previous play is under further review chase norblade had the recovery on the punt just a few minutes ago and now we will see if noor blade is able to continue in this game if he does get ejected he will miss the first half of their quarterfinal matchup if they're able to hold on here see here as he comes in and sees leading crown of the helmet right he leads it looks like he goes a little bit below the shoulder pads obviously you're targeting towards that head and neck area but still i think you're gonna have one of those indicators there of leading with the crown of the helmet this is what they want to get out this is not only about saving the offensive players but it's about also helping the defensive player there and he does exactly what you see him even slow to get up as a result of leading with his head you're going to watch as he goes low leads with the crown of his helmet kind of that neck goes down you see that's what they want to kind of get out of the game not only for the player carrying the football but for the safety of the defensive player as well i think you're going to see this stand yeah regardless of intent that looks like classic targeting doesn't it chase nora blade in addition to on special teams is south dakota state's back up strong safety and we will see if he is able to continue in this game if you're just joining us holy cross had the game's first chance to score had a 49 yard field goal blocked on their opening drive then bob chesney saw the jackrabbits go 63 yards touchdown 7-0 lead and jack rabbits have had the lead since taking another look at this nor blade you're gonna see him go low it's the head or neck air but he actually makes initial contact to the face mask it kind of slips down and goes low but i think that leading up with the helmet and again not only trying to protect the offensive player but the defensive player as well i think is going to get this confirmed i'm still waiting though looks like a decision coming jeff page our referee it's so hard with the speed of the game sometimes too after review there is no foul for targeting person [Applause] [Music] and a replay official carl logan disagree with us and good news for john stickelmeyer as norblade's able to stay in yeah it did go a little bit low i think there was enough there for the call to replay booth thinking otherwise and as you mentioned norblade able to stay in the game and more importantly also be available in the first half of a second round game that will be against either weber state or southern illinois also on south dakota state side of the bracket jacksonville state has finished off davidson gamecocks onto the quarters from the 27th sloka keeps the football game of eight on first down see rolling out [Applause] being able to run use that athleticism it's still a big part of that offense so they have a lot of ground to make up they need to do so some in the air to the ground again and against this jackrabbit defense with such great pursuit yeah had 145 rushing yards against fordham most by a holy cross freshman in 44 seasons but it's different going up against this jackrabbit d allowing just three and a half yards of carry and that's backus number 12 out on the edge making a tackle in space part of that outstanding linebacker crew you see him break down go low make the play those three linebackers preston tetzloff adam bach and then logan backus they're really the heartbeat of that defense they came into this game as three leading tacklers and a nice open field tackle there by number 12. and logan beckus plans to be a doctor but we'll play in the fall blitz seleuca escapes momentarily but brought down shaya the marker [Music] down 24-3 it's fourth and about one and a half bob chesney will bring out the punting unit and it really collapsed around seleuca very quickly we've seen him today several times kind of get out of trouble and be able to avoid the rush but not able to pick up enough for the first down [Music] matthew sluka has not lost a game as a starting quarterback coaches tell us ever different when you're going up against the top seeds in the fcs good role on this punt seleuca undefeated in prep school in 2019 undefeated 2017 2018 at kellenberg memorial high school but here this late april in 2021 holy cross struggling against the top seeds in the [Music] playoffs champions of the missouri valley conference south dakota state 24-3 edge on holy cross approaching the midway point of quarter number three the nfl draft is coming starting this thursday april 29th it goes through saturday may 1st on espn and the espn app it's almost certain we will hear trey lance's name be called on thursday in the first round newcomer of the year freshman of the year offensive player of the year in the missouri valley in 2019. that was as a redshirt freshman mark granowski matched all that as a true freshman craig yeah very good company to be an outstanding season gronowski has been solid today three touchdown passes hands it off on first down to isaiah davis ever since the first drive south dakota state for the most part they have done what they have set out to do including garnowski through the air he only had 14 pass attempts in the win at north dakota state last saturday he's been called upon to throw more than that today and has been quite successful you know he matches trey lance in what he's been able to do in the accomplishments but only one other true freshman as south dakota state as the number one seed kind of has that eye on a national championship only one other quarterback has been able to lead a team to a national title as a true freshman 11 touchdowns on the season through the year for gronowski plenty on the ground hands it off to davis again to your point he's a true freshman can he lead south dakota state to the promised land only one true freshman quarterback has ever done it armani edwards to his four-time all-conference with appalachian state including winning it all in 2006. yeah at the fcs level he's the only one so south dakota state has a tremendous team they're the number one seed gronowski has certainly played above his experience level but you see there the track record and trey lanso did it but did it as a red shirt freshman and then edwards after winning the fcs crown in 2006 season opener of 2007 they went to ann arbor shocked michigan it was number five in the nation at the time 34-32 for as much as pierre strong gets the attention in the backfield on this team you mentioned isaiah davis 220 pound true freshman from joplin missouri south dakota state able to get him to brookings and he's been impressive too yeah you want to talk about a one-two punch he's a another big back he's a player you know pierre strong missed one game this year against southern illinois that one game that he missed and davis got to start 150 yards three touchdowns also and he backed up here strong well last week and the win for the dakota marker 84 yards and a touchdown run that put the game away play action garnowski hit as he throws and almost intercepted he's looking for blake coons three holy cross defenders in the area lucky for that to be an incomplete pass back to the running game as we see the incompletion isaiah davis 81 87 yards on the ground gronowski got lucky here yeah off target but it was good coverage there number 26 walter reynolds a safety titan coverage and then two other crusader defenders in the area davis in the backfield on third and two averaging 11 yards to carry today three tight end [Applause] first down davis stays on his feet oh and gets about five or six more took joe lang for the last couple [Applause] one with the jumbo package three tight ends in there got him going downhill and easily able to pick up that first down doesn't bring the motion across going gently look at that push those blue jerseys playing on the crusader side of the line of scrimmage strong now back in first set of downs from the 45. [Applause] strong able to stay on his feet but only get a yard a holy cross defense giving up 44 rushing yards a game coming in second in the fcs they've given up 96 to davis and 181 overall to the jackrabbits averaging almost 11 yards per carry it's pretty impressive when you're not the featured back it's something to be said there because you see especially on the fbs level a lot of players getting impatient not wanting to wait their turn that's the classic story of isaiah davis waiting his turn behind one of the best running backs in the fc s p air strong blitz gronowski in trouble that's incomplete and right now no flag on the field i didn't think that got back to the line of scrimmage our line judge christopher hess was right on it and is talking to a referee jeff page right now bob chestnut there was no file for official grounding number 20 was in the area but a receiver they're saying receiver pierre strong there in the area is he rolling out as he's going down throws it then strong's back to it they're gonna say that strong was there in the area so it's the third and nine just the seventh third down for gronowski and the offense today setting up the bubble and oh jackson yankee was able to get away still three yards shy of the first dead marker however yeah defender came down you could hear the hit up here in the booth but didn't wrap up and not be able to get a few extra yards but still setting up the fourth down jackson yankee is lumping as he goes to the sideline and took the hit from the strong safety grant holloman still was able to get into holy cross territory although the crusaders make the stop and the punting unit on [Applause] john smith not back there now after that all-important fumble jared kremer now back to receive this punt from dinkle crimer lets it go and oh went through the five hole of the first man there and then still though took the great bounce out of bounds at the one [Music] [Applause] when it's your day it's your day and the almost 5 000 fans enjoying what they're seeing so far [Music] can't do it any better if you're south dakota state punter ben dinkle kale readers deep back unable to control the punt doesn't matter out of bands of the one they would think that the way it bounced that he would have changed his trajectory the ball just took that turn on its own and ben dinkle's had two big time punts here and against one of the best defenses in all of the fcs holy cross 99 yards to go to pay dirt just the field goal so far this game came on a derrick king 47 yarder 29 seconds to go in the second quarter play clock is at zero and the flags are down [Applause] late game office number 14. penalties forced half the distance from the previous spot remains first and so it is weary number 14 at quarterback for holy cross this is marco ciderman a true freshman from agora hills california he's listed fourth on the depth chart this is his first ever snap in a holy cross uniform and it comes against the top seeds and all of the fcs the handoff to peter oliver gives the crusaders some breathing room [Music] ciderman set a westlake high school record for most total yards as a senior over 3 500 passing yards 27 touchdowns 11 more on the ground and here he is again in his first ever action at holy cross tough situation to get into when you were initially standing in your own end zone able to get a little breathing room here his first run loses one [Applause] quentin hicks one of the jackrabbits there sophomore from wichita kansas [Applause] we'll see here on try it put it in there not very well executed read option it holds on to it but runs right to the teeth of that south dakota state defense what's interesting is kind of jump down connor degenhart played a lot last year as a senior number 10 and then matt considine who transferred in was a walk-on at wake forest at one point but as you mentioned they've gone down ciderman here give him an opportunity first throw complete and gilliam was he able to get to the stick he may just have it in fact he does they'll move the chains gilliam's been their most productive target today you see him organ underneath young freshman quarterback makes the throw and able to stretch just enough of that first down fifth catch for gilliam his teammates have four flag down and nothing doing oliver brought down for a loss we'll see what the flag's all about legal substitution defense 12 men on the field five-year penalty from the previous spot replayed the down first at five for a holy cross offense still under 200 yards today matthew shluka took over the starting spot and the picture league title game last week now watches ciderman in action in trouble and catch made a foot inbound yes another catch for gilliam the junior from san antonio texas minimum gain about you're already gonna see him get to the outside find his receiver but just about a yard past the line of scrimmage turvier chasing ciderman down as he released the football [Applause] holy cross recruits nationally siderman one of a number of californians on the crusader roster cordobine enough for the first as we're under two minutes to go in the third david salesman craig harbored from brookings south dakota they're not used to playing fcs playoff games with 50 degree weather usually it's colder than that late november december here not used to playing in 50 degree or in april who's used to playing in april and whoever gets to the title game will be playing in mid-may and then a very short break before fall practice begins i think this has been a great opportunity though i mean unusual yes but i think it's been a great opportunity for fcs to kind of get the showcase itself a little bit more instead of playing in the fall kind of in the shadow fbs here with the fcs playoffs especially i think it's going to be a really nice platform for a lot of the talented players in fcs football to kind of showcase their abilities and what the excitement that can happen at this level as well and everyone gets the year back right including everyone on the south dakota state defense giving up 16 a game coming in upset last season by northern iowa made the semis in 2017-2018 north dakota state has ended their season four times since 2012. if they play the bison it'll be in the title game yeah [Music] third down and three it was interesting a number of teams opting out of playing in the spring and then some played full schedules in the fall patriot lincoln course was limited just two regular season games before the title game between holy cross and bucknell last week south dakota state able to get six games in in the spring third first down to the drive for holy cross remember they started at their one that'll end the third quarter 17-3 jacks at that time at the end of the third quarter and went on to that lead with mark granowski's third touchdown pass of the day and this jackrabbit defense has been as advertised three finals in the fcs playoffs already today sam houston led 21-nothing in the fourth but needed a late interception to hold off monmouth bearcats move on jacksonville state no problem with davidson could be gamecocks and south dakota state in the semifinals here in a couple of weeks and number three james madison they weren't happy with that see their rank number one in the polls had to hold off vmi making their first playoff appearance in almost half a century 31-24 from brookings david salesman craig haubert a 24-3 south dakota state lead as we begin quarter number four that marco ciderman pass incomplete intended for byron shipment and so far two three and four of the seeds have taken care of business and number one we're watching right now south dakota state and in control of this game as we start the fourth quarter just four seeds this season usually we have 24 teams in the playoffs eight seated teams who get a buy no buys this year top four seeds guaranteed at least two home games of course one and two guaranteed three if they can make it that far well holy cross made it here as the patriot league champs their first ever postseason appearance 1946 and heartbreak at the orange bowl miami of florida a pick six to end the game by al hudson it went 89 yards and gave the hurricanes a 13-6 win and that is a picture from the 1946 orange bowl hey we didn't think they'd be putting the ball in the air in 1946 let alone ending in a pick six and six six here deep in miami territory set of the field goal right nope crusader heartbreak in florida no chance for ciderman and third down a sack [Applause] and it's caleb sanders and junior getting in there for 99. second sack of the year for the junior from glenwood iowa right over the nodes is able to shed him and get in the backfield and wrap up the quarterback now back to the playoffs again 16 teams like i'm not naive enough to think that this may ever happen can you imagine that the fbs not only win 16 teams but just like they do in the fcs auto bids for your conference champs can you imagine what championship weekend would be like in all the conferences knowing that if you win you get a shout out the title there'll be some power five leagues that it would be a must win to make the playoffs in that scenario well you bring that up in the week where there's been talk of super leagues and well isn't the mps already kind of a super league in a way the group of five teams good luck getting into that final four espn's coverage of the fcs championships continue next week in second round coverage on espn3 espn2 and the espn app for more information go to ncaa.com the official online home for all 90 ncaa championships we'll have two second round matchups saturday and two on sunday next weekend north dakota state was down 13 to eastern washington they have the lead in the third they've only lost two games all time in the fcs playoffs while winning eight titles marshall georgia southern now fbs teams youngstown stayed on hard times but they were a power under jim tressel karnowski going deep and over shoots this time one of the yankee twins in jackson who has one of their three touchdowns i just think the fbs and look we all know why they keep it at four right it's a lot of money in the fbi well interesting conference championship weekend if you had auto bids well you say that interestingly enough news came out that there was some talk exploration of potentially expanding the playoffs from four we'll see what happens down the road with that so certainly i think some tinkering potentially down the line but yeah i mean i think you know that's what makes fcs so exciting is the ability to get in have these playoffs pierre strong on the carry south dakota state approaching 200 yards on the ground and they've also been able to have success through the year the twins jackson and jaden yonke all three of their touchdowns today and over 100 yards receiving they have really stepped up we talked about the ground game and how important it is to the south dakota state offense but they've been able to make some plays in the air and this is an offense you remember too that we talked about him a little bit earlier johnson he's going to potentially be a day 2 day 3 pick in the nfl draft imagine this offense too if they had him in the mix he decided to opt out prepare for the nfl draft and the two yankee twins have really stepped up big time in trying to replace the production loss with johnson who had almost 1200 yards receiving last year over 72 receptions that's a lot of production lost here are the touchdowns to the yankee twins today yeah there's jackson gets a free release a lot of open space works towards the pylon wide open here we see them aligned next to each other jaden jaden on the outside jackson excuse me jaden on the inside works on a little out he is wide open those both as you mentioned kind of go back after the game and neither one can say they had too much better game than the other i'm sure jackson wants that second touchdown though to match his brother holy cross down three squares we'll have it inside there 35 12 22 remaining in brookings top seeds in control beautiful day in brookings and for the jack rabbit faithful seeing their team lead 24-3 top seeds in the fcs playoffs for the first time the college of the holy cross founded in 1843 in a long list of distinguished alumni mr basketball bob cousy was a freshman when the crusaders won the national title in 1947. all tommy heintzen did average 27 points 21 rebounds to senior year at holy cross before being an nba all-star for six times or six times dr anthony fauci and supreme court judge clarence thomas also on the list of distinguished alumni i think we all wish we could say who's dr anthony fauci yeah you know with all due respect to him like to see him less as the year goes on and as you've said getting through all this and all the fcs teams able to get to april in the playoffs bob chesney and his staff they didn't think they'd have a season even as late as january and you mentioned it there were only four football players on campus 20 off campus and those off campus could come to work out but that's just 25 and they were initially limited to one on-field session and one weightlifting session per week but yet they were able to get it together and win another patriot league crown matthew saluka back in at quarterback almost intercepted looking for jewel and joshua manchega i've been able to call this guy's name much but the junior free safety with three picks on the year almost had a fourth and did a nice job of breaking on that in front a little bit low as we see him kind of roll out see him step in front just not able to find a handle breaks it up bob chesney has won everywhere he's been division three salve regina division two assumption college now back to back patriot league titles just 43 years of age here comes the blitz luca didn't see it goes down logan backus first sack of the season for the senior well over 200 career tackles coming in yeah they don't dial up a lot of pressure they do there and back us on a little bit of a delayed blitz as an opening seam you're going to see him come right from the left you see him unable there too late by the back to be able to pick it up doesn't see him by that point back is past him in the backfield for the sack his defensive coordinator jimmy rogers calls him logan bakkus smartest player in my time here and rogers has been here quite a bit captained south dakota state's first ever fcs playoff team in 2009. he's been an assistant here since 2013. with 17-3 at the half 24-3 south dakota state early in the fourth and i think one of the interesting things it's been such a challenging year for so many people and we saw as you mentioned no football for fcs in the fall you see on the back of the south dakota state players helmets is last play and that kind of jumped out to me and i asked coach digglemeyer what does that mean he goes how would you want to be remembered if it was your last play and i think that's always a great message especially in this year when we thought so many times that football may be taken away from us and so every time you step on the field you give max effort you give everything because if that is your last play how would you want to be remembered isaiah davis may be remembered for this run looking for paydirt [Music] he's got a touchdown the last play for davis in this game gives him his sixth touchdown run of the season [Applause] 60 yards the freshman back doing a nice job getting to the outside he was unable to turn on the speed we talked about what he was able to accomplish in high school missouri gatorade player of the year over 2 000 yards rushing as a senior and making an impact in that backfield this year and the big run there extra point by cole from makes it 31-3 and you're so right the message meaning even more last play because of what we've gone through what these players have gone through with kovan 19 haven't isaiah davis that speed just enough to get into the end zone dragging a defender across the goal line i think we've seen those players a lot of those teams especially north dakota states had so much success at the fcs level winning national champions and they've done it with the recipe of playing [Applause] tough defense and being able to run the football and this south dakota state team david is set up kind of the same way they could run the football they can control the line of scrimmage they can control the clock and they could play stifling defense as well the 60-yard touchdown run longest in isaiah davis's career and that 156 overall a career high mention craig he had 150 in the 44-3 win at southern illinois when pierre strong was hurt and did not play [Music] jackrabbits no assuming they hold on that they will host another fcs playoff game either next saturday or sunday and if they can win that quarterfinal they'll host the semifinals as well what a huge opportunity for this jackrabbit program that has looked up at north dakota state as everyone has for so many years now and i think they've made the best of what we've talked about has been a tough year and i also think this is a south dakota state team that may be special may be dialed in we talked about with holy cross they only had 24 players local during the fall south dakota state almost 90 players on their team came back over the christmas break and worked on their own to prepare to get ready for this spring season so i think you saw the commitment and the leadership from this jackrabbits program from outside of the coaches but from the players on themselves to put it on themselves to get ready to make that extra step and i think sometimes those are the little things that you see off camera that wind up kind of playing a big role in the type of season that south dakota state is in a position to have well they took advantage of that opportunity right because holy cross is just one of many examples of teams that never had that opportunity they have the opportunity here in brookings and you mentioned are the almost 90 players coming together to get in that early work yeah on their own and i think that speaks to the leadership that they have on this team and the investments that the players are putting into it and on each other and that goes to that last play theory of just kind of holding each other accountable and so they put in that work kind of in their own down time i think that allowed him to kind of hit the hit the ground running once this season starts they stumbled once against north dakota but i've really finished strong and look here's the roster breakdown 98 on the roster about a quarter of the players are here from south dakota so north dakota state's been the rival even before arriving in brookings you have a lot of midwest players and i love no players from north dakota we we asked john stiglemeyer about it and he said well i was the first to offer carson wentz who lived in bismarck since he was three years old before heading to fargo but the south dakota players they stay in state and whoever north dakota state tries to get from north dakota they stay up there well it's hard to lure somebody from one of those other states when they've got an outstanding program within their own borders the football on the fcs level in this area because we haven't mentioned north dakota either they're hosting a playoff game in grand forks as we speak against missouri state [Applause] saluka sack and a loss of two this defense having its way jared de priest the redshirt freshman on the play doing a nice job there on the edge number 90 kind of forcing him back inside and allowing the defender to come in and clean that up that was randy camone number 90 forcing a ball carrier back inside kimon listed as third string defensive end dupri's third string nose tackle sloka it's got a heavy deep double coverage not close to coker as stalberg was the first jackrabbit there and i think that's another part of the recipe and having success in the playoffs you just mentioned just mentioned kimon and the priest two third string players having the depth the bodies to be able to rotate in and play several players there getting pressure forcing him to step up and know where to go downfield how to through that and double coverage jimmy rogers says come on true freshman from oakdale minnesota is a special talent we've seen him in in the last couple of plays holy cross's first drive they converted their first three first a third downs got a 49-yard field goal blocked they have really struggled since offensively here come the jackrabbits again and on third and long very little yardage on the catch by purdy just back to that d line they they've told us that they've had 15 players play at that position this year and i think in the trenches having the depth especially on that defensive side of the ball being able to rotate in fresh bodies that you believe and you feel comfortable being out there and you're seeing dirt string players contributing i think that's important if you're looking to make a run in the playoffs you have no buys as we've talked about and so whoever wins will have to win four games in four weeks there normally is a multi-week break between the semi-finals and the championship game but not this time around it'll be eight days between the semis in the championship game which is may 16th in frisco texas south dakota state north dakota state even at north dakota south dakota two great fcs football up and down i-29 we'll talk more about that when we return [Music] let's take a drive up interstate 29 you hit the state of south dakota and first you pass vermillion university of south dakota 2017 fcs quarterfinal bid with great cup champ chris trembler for the winnipeg blue bombers then you come here to brookings south dakota state nine straight fcs playoff appearances they've been looking up at the bison at north dakota state for quite some time in fargo eight fcs titles the last nine seasons and how about the university of north dakota and grand forks they didn't start playing division one football until 2008 but they've made back-to-back fcs playoff appearances and are hosting missouri state as we speak dominating them in fact early in the third quarter amazing the great fcs football in the dakotas up and down interstate 29 and proof of that here in brookings in 2016 they completed the reconstruction of dana dykaw stadium it seats over 19 000 which is just below the 2020 population of this town brookings south dakota of course you have sioux falls uh just about an hour south of here but don't they love their fcs football here in brookings well you hear the expression the road to the playoffs goes through there was a literal example of where the road to the playoffs goes through we just saw that you mentioned north dakota there top they have an outstanding running back themselves otis waya who's the only other player to receive offensive player of the year votes outside of south dakota state's quarterback mark granowski and then obviously north dakota state's resume speaks for itself so a really impressive run of programs in one stretch by the way out of the four programs we just mentioned this is the only outdoor football facility so mark granowski's day is done keaton heidi who gronowski replaced their starter this season is ian sophomore from wyzata minnesota had over a thousand yards passing in 2019 jordan meacham grad transfer from sacred heart is in a tailback a 31-3 south dakota state lead they led 17-3 at the half and here's meacham gives up size to pierre strong and isaiah davis rush for 11 touchdowns at sacred heart in 2018. on the ground against a team that had given up 44 a game in patriot league play 250 for south dakota state today and you expect that type of rushing numbers from this jackrabbits program i think though what has really kind of impressed me is the job that they were able to get done through the air mark gronowski 12 of 21 but 153 yards not eye-popping numbers but three touchdowns as they try to go through these playoffs make a run at the national title they're going to need to be balanced and i think they showed some glimpses of being able to do that today because you know the run game is going to be there i love the hustle of jacob dobbs on that tackle this defensive coordinator scott james calls them just a lunch bucket kid had a pick against bucknell last week averaging almost 10 tackles a game coming in obviously south dakota state too much today but dobbs one of the leaders of this holy cross defense yeah you know he's kind of got that you know blue collar style but he's also a tremendous athlete i mean i went back and looked in high school at one camp he was tested at a 4-2 in a short shuttle so even if that was handheld maybe a little bit off still outstanding agility from him like i said i think if he was maybe two inches taller you might he might have been playing at an fbs program jefferson lee the fifth on the gary sophomore from marshall minnesota trey lans is from and that'll set up third in short yeah bob chesney just called jacob dobbs a special kid you see he's at nine tackles today while recruiting him he told jacob's dad we'll win at holy cross if we get your son and that's exactly what's happened adam michigan also offensive player as well he's got good hands hattie preferred walk on opportunity at michigan obviously decided to come here to holy cross and it has been the anchor of that defense [Music] and only a sophomore as well still some quite a bit of football ahead of him as they continue to try to build this crusaders program dobbs was right there again but lee [Applause] gets enough for the first down sophomore just over 100 yards rushing this season so we've seen the formula for fcs playoff success steady quarterback play and then the ground game and the defense so physical and south dakota state has shown all of that this afternoon and as i think they look back at this game that you know as you continue to try to make this run in the playoffs they could look at what they did today and feel like they checked a lot of boxes they got the run game going they dominated the line of scrimmage were able to interject a little bit of balance offensively they played well defensively and they also got contributions from their special teams well john stinglemeyer the head coach of south dakota state i love his twitter handle holy nutmeg he says it's my curse word it's what i say when i get frustrated i thought he said it too much today then he told us he said i didn't set up my twitter i never wanted holy nutmig to be my name i didn't have the heart to tell him you could change that yeah that's a good one the i can keep it but as you mentioned that not much need uh to utter holy nutmeg today this jackrabbit's 29-9 in missouri valley play since 2016. course most people think that's the best conference in fcs football was that dobbs again running all the way across the field it was what heart this young man is showing late in the fourth with this game out of hand look at this we talked about the athleticism that he has the ability to kind of flatten and run down the ball carrier an outstanding just football player you watch him on tape the instincts jump out he sees he reads and reacts so quickly and impressive ability to close on the football as well you don't see many jerry rice finalists on defense that goes to the best freshman in fcs football he was a finalist in 2019 both quarterbacks today starting gronowski and seleuca on the jerry rice finalist list course rice played a mississippi valley state and his college days that handoff enough for the first as they gave it to me approaching three minutes to go fourth quarter south dakota state will take on either southern illinois or weber state here in brookings next weekend with the victory today well i'm sure if you're a south dakota state fan you're probably thinking yes southern illinois we dominated the first time you played but you mentioned a little bit earlier sometimes you got to be careful because beating a team twice in one season can be difficult yeah that was northern iowa in 2019 i'm sure of southern illinois can get by weber state and it's 21-17 weber satan in the third siu is going to come in here saying what do we have to lose we've already lost by 41 at home to the jackrabbits in the regular season let's take a look at the brackets so weber state southern illinois ongoing delaware secret heart seven eastern tonight jacksonville state dominant over davidson that's a gamecock team two losses one came in the fall at florida state the other came in the spring at home to austin peay in which they turned the ball over six times doubtful they will do that again that's a formidable fourth seed that south dakota state may face in a couple of weeks although delaware undefeated excellent at the caa as well yeah jacksonville state very menacing defense what's interesting too is see how scattered everything has been this year so holy cross played three games this year if you stretch back to the fall jacksonville state has played 11 right and one nine of them including a win over florida international in the fbf so james madison they wanted that to see they were upset that sam houston got it they had to hold off vmi sam houston a late interception after being up 21-0 had to hold off monmouth north dakota state has scored 28 unanswered they lead eastern washington 35-20 and north dakota all over missouri state early in the third all those games right now on espn3 streaming on the espn app and we were talking yesterday david i know you you're based out of texas and you really feel like this could be the sam houston program that could really make the run because they're a little bit more balanced they've always been known for an explosive offense but you feel they got the defense to complement it they finally have an elite defense they outscore their opponents and making it to the fcs semifinals from 2014 to 2017 and then once they went up against an elite team they got crushed they lost by a combined score of 33 those four semifinals you were at the jacksonville state game in 2017 it was over in the first quarter but they've changed their system offensively to be more methodical and then defense they're one of the best in the nation they obviously have to play better fourth quarters but it's a much different team than the ones that got blown out in the 70s last decade yeah johari k one of those key pieces in that front seven trayvon williams also the linebacker as you mentioned so they certainly have the explosives to turn it on offensively when they need to but able to be a little bit more stout on defense as we've talked about a lot of these teams that have had success in fcs playoffs football time out so a hand from the jackrabbit faithful and they can double the crowd next weekend ncaa mandated 25 capacity for the first run games it goes up to 50 for the quarterfinals and we will see south dakota state there again against either southern illinois or weber state well john stigelmeier told his team earlier this week we need to prove we're the number one seed and this their type of performance physical dominant up front 281 yards on the ground 439 overall impressive because i think it was a team effort all three phases of the game contributed remember they got two outstanding puns today one that resulted in a turnover they also blocked a field goal attempt error that really kind of started took away no points from an early successful holy cross drive so i think that all three phases of this south dakota state team contributed today and i think that's what's really positive here a jackrabbit's fan is that this was a team effort as they're moving forward in all four top seeds taking care of business in the opening round now if we thought mark granowski the true freshman would feel any playoff pressure not the case at all three touchdown passes he went 12 of 21 10 of 14 in the first half and for bob chesney it won't be a surprise if holy cross is back in the fcs playoffs in the fall 2021 campaign two straight patriot league championships under coach chesney and he has won wherever he's been 80 wins in 11 seasons as a head coach going all the way down to the d3 level yeah i mean they're still very much in the infancy of the chesney era you think you look on the other side of the the football and what stiglemeyer has been able to do over the course of 24 seasons you mentioned the success everywhere that chesney has had and i think they're off on the right start two straight playoff appearances i think this is a program moving in the right direction we've talked about jacob dobbs he's only a sophomore it's luca only a freshman they've got a lot of young pieces to build off of for coach stig his 172nd win of his south dakota state career and were they dominant top seeds in the fcs playoffs for the first time ever holy cross hung in early but too much from this jackrabbit squad on both sides of the ball special teams turnover key in the third which helped to put the game away 31-3 jack rabbits over the crusaders we'll hear from coach digg when we return dominating performance from the top seed south dakota state takes advantage of being the number one seed in the fcs playoffs for the first time ever as they roll over the crusaders of holy cross by a 31-3 score and we are joined now by the winning head coach john stiglemeyer coach stick congrats to you we talked a few minutes ago about your favorite phrase perhaps holy nutmeg it at least is what you say when you're frustrated and i'm sure in this one maybe you didn't say it too much especially in the end as your team wins 31-3 congrats in your initial thoughts uh we can play better it was uh kind of a workman's day for us but i thought holy cross did a really good job in a lot of phases and made us work for this i'm just excited to go to the next round really you talked about those phases i think if you're going to make a run at a national title you need all three phases to contribute i think you got to be pleased overall with how your special teams contributed today yeah we are we are you know our kicker on kickoff had a tough time at times but uh got a field goal out of them we got a we got the fumble on the punt uh so that was a huge play in the game uh i i'm excited about the win you know we'll look at the film and know we can play a lot better mark gronowski the freshman of the year newcomer of the year in the missouri valley conference three touchdown passes all to the yankee twins your thoughts on his performance today uh he's a good player and we give him an opportunity there fat guys up front do a good job of blocking the tight ends do a good job of blocking and uh he's he's uh very confident i think he played well i know this he'd like a couple throws back but that's that's the kind of guy you want to coach and when you headed into this season coach do you ever think you'd have two freshmen playing such a big role in your backfield gronowski but isaiah davis with a monster day rushing the football yeah i did not you know i'll be honest with you i'm surprised by young men all the time in our program seldom am i disappointed very excelled in my disappointed most the time it's being surprised at how how well they do on the football field you held holy cross to under 200 total yards today after the crusaders had some success early but what was the key overall to your defensive performance well we didn't give up a big play we had the one pass at the start of the first second half but otherwise they they had to nickel and dime us and you have to be a real patient football team and you have to be on all the time to do that and once while we got them in long situations and were able to get after their quarterback any thoughts on next week southern illinois weber state in progress weber state a four-point lead in the third you've already beaten southern illinois today but either them or weber state coming here next week uh i just glad we're at home excited we're at home love to play another round uh we've got one young man pressing tets left that this is the end of his career and we have 109 guys that are playing their tails off to keep playing so it doesn't matter who it is well preston led your defense again and holding holy cross to under 200 total yards today congratulations on the win and good luck next weekend and through the playoffs thanks so much take care all right the man they call coach stig john stiglemeyer in his 24th season a south dakota state head coach this could be his best team and it was quite a performance by them today yeah well-rounded team effort all three phases contributed an outstanding start to this playoff potential playoff run for south dakota state so all four seeds win sam houston had to hold off monmouth late almost blew a 21 nothing lead one by six the three seed james madison had to do the same holding off vmi in the four seed jacksonville state no problem with davidson jacksonville state on south dakota state side of the bracket so possibly a game in two weeks between the gamecocks and the jackrabbits jacksonville state a win over florida international of the fbs and 10 wins already for them this season and mentioned the 3c james madison the 31-24 win holding off vmi weber state so still 21-17 the lead over southern illinois in the third quarter and of course the winner of that game comes here to brookings next weekend either saturday or sunday north dakota first time for them to host an fcs playoff game in some time right now no problem with bobby petrino in missouri state 24-3 the lead in grand forks and north dakota state at one time they were down 20 to seven the bison have scored 35 unanswered looks like north dakota state will head down to huntsville texas and take on the two seed sam houston state next weekend so let's look at the playoff brackets one more time south dakota state jacksonville state the seated teams have won weber state southern illinois in progress delaware sacred heart in newark delaware tonight seven o'clock eastern on espn3 the blue hens auto bid out of the caa undefeated in the shortened season and on the other side james madison sam houston they have both won looks like that james madison will take on north dakota at home next week and as mentioned north dakota state they're not used to having a lot of road games at least before the title game but if the bison want to reach the championship game this season they'll have to win at least one road game and that comes next week against sam houston state but again south dakota state at 31-3 win and final thoughts craig yeah well i think one thought is nobody wants to see north dakota state get hot that was a big win for them today and they're going to face probably the two most explosive offensive teams in the first two rounds of this playoffs but for south dakota state listen they came in as a number one seed they wanted to prove they were worthy of it they certainly did that today if you want to be successful in the playoffs you better be able to play defense you better be able to run the football they can do those things i think we've seen progress from gronowski as a passer and if he can continue to play good special teams as well this south dakota state teams can be very tough to beat yeah they dominated in all three phases 435 total yards for the jackrabbits they held holy cross to 198 also a black field goal and a recovery on a fumble pump which really helped the jackrabbits pull away it was just 17-3 at the time in the third quarter thanks to all who helped us out today for my broadcast partner craig harvard i'm david salsman saying so long from dana dykas stadium in brookings south dakota 31-3 the south dakota state win this has been a presentation of espn you

Channel: Wally the Bronco Too

Views: 3,341

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: 2021 NCAA FCS Championship First Round, Holy Cross, South Dakota State

Id: tViqMiIKv2o

Length: 147min 33sec (8853 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 27 2021