The FCS semifinals are set and its the top four teams that made it. No. 1 Montana State will take on No. 4 South Dakota and No. 2 North Dakota State will play a rematch against No. 3 South Dakota State on Saturday.
Its the first time since 2012 that the top four seeds all made the semifinals. All season these four teams have looked like the best four teams, so its fitting that they will play for a trip to Frisco on Saturday.
But is it bad for the FCS that there werent any upsets in this years playoffs? The closest quarterfinal game this past weekend was USD beating UC Davis 35-21. NDSU beat Mercer 31-7 and SDSU and Montana State each blew out their quarter final opponents, with the Jackrabbits beating Incarnate Word 55-14 and the Bobcats topping Idaho 52-19.
I believe that this is what you should want if youre a fan of FCS football. Dont you want to have the best teams playing at the end? I get that we as a sports society get wrapped up in the story of the underdog, and maybe I would have a different opinion if I wasnt covering the back-to-back national champions.
College sports are especially built for the underdog story. Thats why everyone loves March Madness. But I think when you get down to it, you should want to watch the best of the best battle it out in the semifinals.
All four teams have top-10 scoring defenses and top-10 scoring offenses in the FCS. They all have an average margin of victory over 20 points per game and none of the four teams have lost to an FCS team that isnt one of the other four.
It truly is the best of the best in the FCS. If that storyline isnt good enough for you, theres a few others that should peak a casual fans interest.
First off, you have the best rivalry in the FCS in the one semifinal. Although the Dakota Marker will not be on the line, theres still always bad blood between SDSU and NDSU. The two programs have dominated the FCS over the past decade-plus, combining for 11 of the past 13 national championships.
SDSU has never beat NDSU in Fargo in the FCS Playoffs. The Jacks have played in Fargo in the FCS postseason three times and have come up short in all three. The last time they traveled north in the postseason was 2018.
SDSU and NDSU played in the semifinals and it was 7-7 after the first quarter, but then the Bison ran away with the game, winning 44-21.
With SDSU winning the past two national titles, and one of those victories in Frisco coming against NDSU, the Bison will certainly have the extra motivation to show the country that they are still the most dominant program in the FCS. However, NDSU beat SDSU in the Fargodome back in October, and that is something that has been on SDSUs coaches and players minds since it happened.
Theres going to be plenty of juice in the dome on Saturday when the game kicks off at 11 a.m., but theres also some good storylines in the other semifinal.
Its the first time in program history that USD will be playing in the semifinals. The Coyotes made it to the quarterfinals last season, but fell to NDSU 45-17. The Coyotes have been on the rise over the past eight years, but now they are as close to the top as you can get. Its time for them to prove if they belong in the top-tier of the FCS or if they are still in the tier below SDSU, NDSU and Montana State.
The Yotes lost to SDSU in overtime and beat NDSU in the regular season. Should they lose on Saturday, it would remind me of when the Jacks were on their come up. They would beat NDSU in the regular season, but then come up short in the playoffs. USD would make a big statement on Saturday if it could punch its ticket to Frisco.
Montana State has never won an FCS title. The Bobcats made the championship game in 2021 but fell to NDSU and then lost to SDSU in the semifinals in 2022. They head into Saturday with a record of 14-0 and 12 of those wins have come by double digits. The way MSU has steam rolled through its competition in the FCS Playoffs is reminiscent of last years SDSU team and the Bobcats would get one step closer to that elusive national championship with a win on Saturday.
All four of these teams have been in the middle of a conversation about FCS teams moving up to the FBS over the past couple years. Talks heated up again this fall when spots in the Mountain West Conference opened up. Nothing came of it, though, and it looks like they will remain in the FCS for at least one more season, which is something that I think is good for all of them.
Sure, some of the regular season games in the FCS this year did not have much juice because it was these four teams and then a large gap. But if these four teams were in the FBS, we wouldnt have a day like were going to have on Saturday. Four of the best teams in the FCS, and frankly four of the better teams in all of college football, squaring off.
So whether youre at the games in Fargo or Bozeman, or youre sitting on your couch, enjoy these two games and remember that this is why we sit through some of the blowouts that take place in the three months leading up to the playoffs.
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