FRISCO, Texas (AP) – Mark Gronowski threw three touchdowns and ran for another 51 yards as South Dakota State won its first national championship Sunday with a 45-21 victory over first-time loser North Dakota State. 10 FCS title games.
As a true freshman two seasons ago, Gronowski tore the ACL in his left knee during the opening drive of the Football Championship Subdivision title game. Nearly 20 months after an unprecedented spring finale loss and a quarterback missing the 2021 season, the Jackrabbits (14-1) defeated a border state rival at his alma mater for John Stiegelmeier’s 26th season-long award at his alma mater. .
Amar Johnson rushed for 126 yards and Isaiah Davis had 119 for his ninth 100-yard game of the season and both scored for South Dakota State. Gronowski, who completed 14 of 21 passes for 223 yards, scored on the third play of the second half to make it 38-14.
Cam Miller was 17-of-26 for 256 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Bison (12-3), who moved from Fargo to Frisco for the 10th time in 12 seasons.
The Jackrabbits have won the last four meetings between the Missouri Valley Football Conference rivals in less than two years. The previous three played regular-season games for the Dakota Marker Trophy at an MLS soccer stadium more than 1,000 miles from their state’s border. It was their 114th meeting since 1903, but the fifth in the FCS playoffs and the first in league play.
South Dakota State’s previous FCS title game was a last-minute loss to Sam Houston State in May 2021 after the lower division season was pushed back to the spring due to the coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19. The Jackrabbits defeated NDSU in the game-shortened regular season and then again this fall before overcoming a 21-7 halftime deficit in the Fargodome before a 23-21 win last October.
Johnson’s 32-yard TD run broke the tie at 7 early in the second quarter. The Jackrabbits got the ball right back at the Bison 34 when Steven Arrell stripped Kobe Johnson and Dallyce Bynum of the ball. Gronowski hit an open Jackson Janke for an 18-yard TD four plays later – Janke also had a 30-yard gain. TD catch in the fourth quarter.
There was a 44-yard touchdown pass just before halftime. On third-and-one, Gronowski moved forward as if to try to run first, instead stopping at the line and leaving Mike Morgan alone behind the entire defense. Miller then hit Eli Green for a 44-yard TD.
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North Dakota State: The Bison were 44-4 in the FCS playoffs and missed a chance to tie Georgia Southern’s record 45-game winning streak, which now plays at the FBS level. Since 2011, when they won the first of their nine FCS titles, they have lost 14 total, and six of those losses have come at South Dakota State – no team other than NDSU has won more than that in that span.
South Dakota State: The Jackrabbits have won a school-record 14 games since opening this season with a 7-3 loss to Big Ten powerhouse Iowa.
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North Dakota State opens the 2023 season on Sept. 2 against perennial FCS playoff contender Eastern Washington in Minneapolis, one of the school’s largest alumni bases.
South Dakota State is still hoping to fill an open spot on its 2023 schedule for Labor Day weekend. The first set is currently Sept. 9 at home against 2021 national finalist Montana State, who the Jackrabbits defeated in this season’s national semifinals.
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