BROOKINGS When South Dakota State played in the FCS semifinals one year ago, there was plenty of anticipation.
The Jackrabbits were seeking their first national title and hoping to get past a Montana State team that was the source of their most recent heartbreak. Just over 7,000 fans filed in to see if SDSU could finally break through and they were rewarded with a 39-18 victory and their second trip to Frisco, Texas, in the past three seasons.
On Friday night, SDSU played in the FCS semifinals again. But the Jacks didnt play like a team that could go to Frisco. They played like a team that knew they were going to Frisco.
Over the past two years, the SDSU football program has grown in many ways but it never showed it in the way it dominated UAlbany 59-0 to punch their second straight trip to the national championship game.
In years past, there was anxiety and a fear for the worst. On Friday, it was replaced by a new feeling confidence.
When the energy started coming and you could see all those fans coming into the building, you could really start to feel it, SDSU quarterback Mark Gronowski said. We were all super confident because the fans were bringing that great energy.
Friday nights crowd was just one example of how the Jacks have grown. A crowd of 12,255 people was nearly double the amount of fans that showed up to see SDSU beat Montana State last year and their voices were heard from the opening kickoff until Alabamas If Youre Going to Play in Texas blared over the loudspeakers.
The environment was enough to get anyone fired up, but it was enough to create a unique atmosphere in the FCS.
The Jacks win on Friday night marked their 28th straight victory and their 20th straight at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium. Over the past several years, the community has created a home-field advantage and it has become stronger thanks to the team on the field.
Were blessed to have great support here, Jackrabbits head coach Jimmy Rogers, an SDSU alum, said after the game. Brookings is awesome. Its an awesome place to go to college with unbelievable support from the administration to the fan base to just the overall connection to the universities. Theres something really special here.
SDSUs performance against UAlbany was a big example of why something special is happening in Brookings. The Jacks didnt just beat UAlbany, they dominated them from the opening kickoff. The game was potentially in doubt for the first 12 minutes and even then, SDSU kept their foot on the gas to leave the Great Danes in the dust.
It came in the form of their defense, which forced UAlbany into more turnovers (four) than punts (three). It also came on special teams when Tucker Larges 78-yard punt return gave SDSU a 28-0 lead in the second quarter.
A 35-0 halftime lead wasnt enough for the Jacks and they piled on when Isaiah Stalbird forced a fumble into the hands of Jason Freeman for a 34-yard scoop-and-score.
Touchdowns to Zach Heins and Griffin Wilde followed and a Hunter Dustman field goal could be considered a formality. But then again, the entire game was a formality which was impressive considering who they were playing.
UAlbany was a team that deserved to be in this spot. They were making their first appearance in the FCS semifinals and coming off an upset over fourth-seeded Idaho at the Kibbe Dome. Their defense came into the game ranked first in the nation in sacks and their offense was fueled by highlighted by quarterback Reese Poffenbarger and wide receiver Brevin Easton, who combined for 228 yards and three touchdowns in last weeks upset over the Vandals.
It wouldnt have been surprising if the Great Danes made SDSU earn its trip to Frisco, but the Jacks went out and made it look like they were playing FCS East on freshman difficulty in NCAA Football 14.
Theyre a great football team, UAlbany head coach Greg Gattuso said of SDSU. It was a bit of an old-fashioned whooping from all the way around. I think we just didnt play well enough to compete at times.
The whooping was so dominant that the Jacks have become the same team that theyve been chasing. While North Dakota State and other FCS powers were having their moment of glory, the Jacks studied them to find out what they needed to do to win the national championship.
Now that they have a title of their own, teams are trying to learn from them.
Thats what we want to do, Gattuso said. Thats an eye opener for our football team and some of our coaches to understand what its like to compete at the highest level.
But once again, this is not a matter of where SDSU is. Its a matter of how they got there.
The Jacks were fueled by a senior class that wanted to go out and win their final game in Brookings on their terms. Its a senior class that built what SDSU football has become and created a foundation of what it could be in the future something that is rare in todays age of the transfer portal.
I think the brotherhood is special here, Rogers said. We let all our players be themselves. [We] push them. We motivate them. We get to know them. Theres a personal connection. Look at our roster and you find 10 guys that have had more than just South Dakota State as a Division-I opportunity. That may be the most impressive thing. [Its] what theyve done to buy in.
This is what made Friday night more of a formality than a question. The Jacks were going to Frisco and it didnt matter which team was going to be placed in front of them. But SDSUs current challenge is to continue to let this grow and take another step forward by winning another national championship in three weeks.
I think you should continue to grow, Rogers said. I think if you look around college football, people want to be around a winner. People want to come out and support a winning program and be proud of the university they went to. We have that duty to make people proud of what South Dakota State did. You know where we are at and we are proud of that. It means the world to me.
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