SDSU Completes Dominant Season For Another FCS Championship

Moments after South Dakota State won its first FCS national championship a year ago, wide receivers Jadon and Jaxon Janke announced they were coming back in 2023 for a sixth season, using their extra year of eligibility due to the COVID season.  

They were the third and fourth Jackrabbit standouts post Senior Day to announce they decided to return for year No. 6. Offensive linemen Mason McCormick and Garret Greenfield were the first two at the start of the playoffs. And tight end Zach Heins made it five a couple of weeks after the Janke announcement.

Paired with other All-American-level returners like LB Adam Bock, CB DyShawn Gales, RB Isaiah Davis, and QB Mark Gronowski, the 2023 Jacks were uber-loaded. SDSU lost just one offensive starter and three defensive starters from its championship team.

From the end of the Jan. 8 title win, through the long offseason, through the regular season, and through the playoffs, the Jacks were heavy, heavy favorites to repeat.

SDSU was -165 on BetMGM to win the natty after the 24-team bracket was set. The second-best odds were Montana at +575.

Those two teams met today to crown a champion in Frisco, Texas.

The spread moved to SDSU -14.5 before kickoff, which was the second-biggest title game spread in the Frisco era that dates back to 2010.

The Jackrabbits delivered on the hype all season. And they delivered one more time today.

SDSU beat Montana 23-3 to make it back-to-back. A crowd of 19,512 packed Toyota Stadium for an energetic atmosphere. It was the biggest crowd in Frisco since the January 2016 game, where 21,836 fans watched North Dakota State beat Jacksonville State.

“This has always been our goal,” Heins said moments after the win. “This group decided, especially our sixth-year guys, we decided we were all going to come back. We were going to come back for this reason right here. To lift that trophy on this stage in this place. It’s the best feeling in the world.”

The first half was choppy, out of sync, and a defensive slugfest with some ugly offensive and special teams execution. It was exactly the style of game that Montana needed to find a way to win.

And perhaps it was a game that SDSU’s defense also enjoyed as it patiently waited for the offense to heat up. Which it did. A 7-3 halftime SDSU lead ballooned to a 23-3 win.

SDSU’s defense flexed its muscle again. Montana mustered just 273 total yards and 61 yards rushing on 30 attempts.

An underrated unit due to the star power of the SDSU offense, the Jackrabbit defense was as good of a unit the FCS has seen in years.

SDSU held playoff opponents to 0, 12, 0, and 3 points.

Its defense allowed 9.27 points per game this season, which is the best in the FCS since the 2003 Monmouth squad that allowed 8.5 points per game.

“Couldn’t be more proud of these guys and the whole team,” SDSU first-year head coach Jimmy Rogers said. “Takes a whole team to get this much done, especially with the hype that surrounded this football program. We never paid much attention to it. We stayed consistent. We worked extremely hard week in and week out. This is the result, 146 points scored to 15. This is the best defense in FCS history, and I’m proud of that, proud of this football team, proud to go back-to-back, proud to do it with these guys, and blessed to be the head coach of South Dakota State.”

Where this SDSU team ranks in FCS history will be a point of contention in the Dakotas.

But it’s all subjective and relative to what exactly “best team” means. How do you compare teams today to 25 years ago? How do you compare championship runs when there have been FCS membership changes? How do you weigh dominating scores and stats vs. sending several guys to the NFL?

The 2019 NDSU squad is arguably the most talented team the FCS has seen in the 2000s. The 2013 NDSU team is probably the most complete and dominant team with the 2018 Bison right there as well. And when it comes to just who was the most dominant FCS team in their respective season, this 2023 SDSU squad is certainly somewhere on the Mount Rushmore.

SDSU’s 15-0 record features 11 wins over ranked opponents. Nine of those 11 ranked wins were by at least three scores. The Jacks won playoff games 41-0, 23-12, 59-0, and 23-3. They owned the highest-graded PFF offense and defense for most of the season. And when it comes to pure talent, there will be plenty of players on the 2023 roster who sign NFL contracts.

“I’m not overly concerned about where it stands,” Rogers said. “I think this is one of the best teams. I know this — this is the best team that South Dakota State football has ever had. That’s what we concern ourselves about. Where it stands in history, I’m not sure. You guys make that decision.”

Another popular word this offseason will be dynasty.

Again, it’s all subjective, but the dynasty term doesn’t apply until you win three in a row, in my opinion. 

So, can SDSU make it a dynasty next year?

A reason this year’s team was so good was due to those sixth-year seniors who came back when they didn’t need to. As of right now, the Jacks will lose 18 seniors from the 2023 roster. But 16 seniors currently plan to return to be 2024 super seniors. Add in 18 juniors this season, and that’s 34 seniors for the 2024 squad.

However, the next opponent comes Monday.

The transfer portal closed in early January for non-grad transfers, but SDSU and Montana players get an extended 5-day window starting Monday due to playing in this game.

A question among SDSU fans this weekend was “Is Gronowski coming back?”

The junior has two more years of eligibility left. Gronowski already has two championship wins and is 37-2 as a full-game starter, 36-1 vs. FCS opponents. His offensive coordinator Zach Lujan is reportedly going to be the next OC for Big Ten member Northwestern, which is near Gronowski’s hometown. And we know how much money standout QBs can make from NIL collectives.

A day after Gronowski won the Walter Payton Award as the best FCS offensive player, he was awarded his second straight Most Outstanding Player trophy for the championship game. As he got the trophy, SDSU fans started to chant “One more year.”

The quarterback is the centerpiece of a team. With or without Gronowski, SDSU has plenty of other key pieces back next fall and will have a veteran roster. As far as we currently know for standout players returning outside the QB position: RB Amar Johnson and WR Griffin Wilde look to be the next All-American-level talent, Gus Miller will anchor the o-line after winning the 2023 Rimington Award as the best FCS center, All-American LB Adam Bock said he’s returning, All-Conference CB Dalys Beanum is coming back, as is All-Conference safety Tucker Large. Other starters and rotational guys will also be back.

SDSU is still going to be pretty dang good next season, and it has shown the ability to reload when it loses senior talent.

The current age of college football sees plenty of roster overhaul. Some years the transfer portal will hit you hard. In other years you won’t lose anyone and the portal benefits you with some nice additions.

SDSU’s 2023 team is a prime example of what happens when the stars stick together.

The Jacks were special for many reasons this season. Whether it was the overall talent level, the defense, the dominating wins, or the playoff performances. Perhaps most special was the roster staying mostly intact to accomplish something great.

Maybe they’ll be the last team like this in the portal era. Or maybe they’ll set a precedent. Hey, SDSU doesn’t have to look far up Interstate 29 to see NDSU’s star players sticking together for a 2024 run.

SDSU was an elite team in 2023. A mark of an elite program is reloading when you lose a historic senior class. And this year’s Jackrabbit senior class will be remembered as one of the better ones in FCS history.