FARGO, N.D. South Dakota States championship reign has come to an end as the back-to-back national champions fell to North Dakota State 28-21 in the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs on Saturday afternoon at the Fargodome.
When you chase a championship, theres only one in the end, and it wasnt us today, said SDSU head coach Jimmy Rogers. … Offensively I felt like we played well enough to win. [The games against NDSU] when weve won have been played in the 20s, but we didnt play well enough defensively and that stings. Now we have to wait 365 [days] to do this again.
A Graham Goering 14-yard touchdown catch tied the game at 21-21 with 8:20 left in the game but that gave the Bison plenty of time to regain the lead. NDSU went on a seven-play 75-yard drive and Bryce Lance capped it off with a 10-yard one-handed touchdown catch to make it 28-21 with just over four minutes to go.
It looked as though SDSU was working its way down the field on its ensuing possesion, but a face mask call on Evan Beernsten backed the Jacks up to first and 25 at their own 32. On third and 17 Mark Gronowski tried to find Goering on a fade route and the ball went through his hands. Gronowski was sacked on the next play and that allowed the Bison to kneel out the clock and punch their ticket to Frisco.
We just didnt make a couple plays and they did, Rogers said. I dont think we played with enough energy today and thats on me. That will eat at me forever. You have to lock in and overcome the ups and downs throughout the game when you play a great program because theyll respond and well respond and its a back-and-forth game, but there isn’t any more time left on that clock.
SDSU went three-and-out to start the game. The Bison then put together a seven-play 80-yard drive and Cam Miller found Lance for a 21-yard score to put NDSU up 7-0.
The Jacks would respond right away though. SDSU put together a nine-play drive and Gronowski scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak to make it 7-7 with 4:15 left in the first quarter. The Jacks then forced a three-and-out and would extend the lead early in the second quarter with a 39-yard touchdown run from Amar Johnson.
SDSU got another stop on NDSUs next drive and was looking to seize control of the game. Thats when Kody Huisman forced a Johnson fumble and Roques Loshiaka recovered it at the SDSU 23. Seven plays later Miller ran it from two yards out and it was 14-14 with just under two minutes to play in the half.
Rogers said the fumble was a big play in the game, but the Jacks need to do a better job of getting the momentum back when that happens.
That was a huge play. But at the same time, it goes back to 14-14 and 21-21 and [technically] its then 0-0. In your mind, you still feel like you have the momentum and you control your own destiny and your own vision and focus on what you want to become. You cant let bad plays impact you to the point where it paralyzes you when you have the opportunity to even it up and overcome [adversity], Rogers said.
SDSU worked its way past midfield before the end of the half but then ran the ball on third and 11 at the Bison 43. Gronowski gained one yard on the play and it looked like the Jacks were content to go into halftime but they called a timeout with three seconds left. They then lined up for a Hail Mary but after NDSU called timeout, SDSU decided to take a knee and go to halftime with the score 14-14.
Rogers said after the game the reason he did that was because he didnt want to show that Gronowski had been dealing with an injury.
Mark has been dealing with a lot, arm-wise. He wasnt 100% playing in this game. You wouldnt know that from the outside world. I didnt want to show that he was hurt. Because if he rips a 60-yard throw, it could have been feast or famine a little bit [with NDSU] knowing that he cant throw the ball that far down the field, Rogers said.
The two teams were in a stalemate in the third quarter as no one scored. NDSU got the ball on its own 30 early in the fourth quarter and it didnt take long for the Bison to gain the lead. On the third play of the drive Miller hit Lance on a deep ball for a 47-yard touchdown to put NDSU up 21-14 with 13 minutes to play.
On the previous Bison drive senior linebacker Caleb Francl left the game with a head injury. Then on the ensuing NDSU punt senior cornerback Dalys Beanum hurt his ankle. Neither returned to the game and Rogers said both injuries affected his defense, but the players that replaced them needed to respond better.
Youre talking about two All-Americans [that left the game] and one of them might have a shot at the NFL. We preach next man up and that opportunity, and when that opportunity presents itself you have to be chomping at the bit with confidence and step on the field to execute, Rogers said.
Lance finished the game with six catches for 125 yards and three touchdowns. Miller was 13-of-19 for 179 yards passing and had 93 yards on the ground. Rogers said both players made big time plays in big moments on Saturday.
[Lance] made multiple [great] catches today. The kids an NFL player. Hes grown quite a bit and has a bright future ahead of him. Cam Miller is an exceptional player. The kid deserves the Walter Payton Award. Hes the best player in FCS football, Rogers said.
Gronowski finished the day 14-of-26 for 204 yards. He also had 15 carries for 50 yards on the ground. Heading into Saturday, Gronowski was one win away from setting the FCS record for wins with 50. Instead he finishes his career tied with NDSUs Easton Stick.
Gronowski still has one more year of eligibility but has said that this was his last season at SDSU. The next step will likely be the NFL Draft and he said after the game that SDSU means the world to him.
I cant thank South Dakota State enough. They gave me an opportunity. It was my only scholarship offer coming out of high school and I cant thank them enough for believing in me. I cant thank the community and all of the support that I had around me and my teammates that made it all worthwhile. I wouldnt trade my experience here for anything, Gronowski said.
NDSU snapped SDSUs 32-game win streak against FCS opponents on Oct. 19 with a 13-9 victory. The Bison are the only FCS team to beat the Jacks in the past three seasons.
The SDSU senior class finishes their career with the only two FCS titles in program history and Rogers said theyve paved the way for plenty of success in the future.
The future is bright at SDSU because of the guys that were bringing in for the next class, but also the classes on the roster at the current moment. The impact that these seniors have left should last a lifetime, honestly, Rogers said.
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