Montana and South Dakota State's history in the FCS national championship

FRISCO — South Dakota State will be playing in the national championship game for the second consecutive year on Sunday, and the third time since the spring of 2021. Those are the only three times in the program’s 12 decade history that the Jackrabbits have played for a national championship.

Montana has played in seven FCS/I-AA title games, though this is their first trip to Frisco (the game moved there in 2010).

Here’s a look back at each team’s history of playing in the big game.

South Dakota State
2020/21: Sam Houston State 23, SDSU 21
The COVID-19 pandemic caused major disruption to college football in the fall of 2020. Some levels of football played games, others didn’t, some tried and failed and others wobbled their way through a haphazard seasons of stops and starts. The FCS postponed its season to the spring of 2021, and the Jackrabbits advanced to the championship game.

There, they took on Sam Houston State, but the Jacks lost freshman quarterback Mark Gronowski to an injury early in the game. Despite the best efforts of fellow freshman Isaiah Davis, the Jacks came up short, losing to the Bearkats 23-21 on a last-second touchdown pass.

2022: SDSU 45, NDSU 21
The Jacks came up one win short of a return trip to Frisco in 2021, falling to Montana State in the semifinals. But with Gronowski back in the fold for 2022, the Jacks had a historic season in store. They got off to a slow start but found their footing in time for conference play. They won their final 14 games of the season, capping off the first championship in program history with a 45-21 trouncing of rival North Dakota State in the championship game.

Montana
1995: Montana 22, Marshall 20
Andy Larson’s 25-yard field goal with 39 seconds to go lifted the Griz to their first title. Montana’s Dave Dickenson (281 yards, 2 TDs) outdueled Chad Pennington to help his team edge the Thundering Herd.

1996: Marshall 49, Montana 29
The rematch went to Marshall, thanks mostly to a wide receiver by the name of Randy Moss. The future Hall of Famer had nine catches for 220 yards — four for touchdowns — as the Herd rolled past the Griz.

2000: Georgia Southern 27, Montana 25
GSU jumped out to a 20-3 lead only to see the Griz scored 20 unanswered points to take the lead.

But Adrian Peterson (the one who played for the Bears, not the Vikings) dashed 57 yards for the go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter, and the Eagles held on.

2001: Montana 13, Furman 6
Joe Glenn’s Grizzlies were the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, with their only loss of the year coming to Hawaii. They were heavy favorites against 3rd-seeded Furman in the title tilt, and in a defensive struggle it was Montana’s that won the day. A 16-play, 99-yard drive by the Griz in the second quarter ended on Yohance Humphery’s 2-yard run, and that was the only touchdown of the game until Furman completed a Hail Mary for a score as time expired.

2004: James Madison 31, Montana 21
The Griz scored twice in barely a minute to go from down 17-7 to up 21-17 midway through the third, but it was all Dukes from there. JMU scored a pair of touchdowns to take the lead and pull away, riding the legs of Maurice Fenner (29 carries, 164 yards) to the national championship.

2008: Richmond 24, Montana 7
The Spiders had rallied from a 4-3 start to their season to reach the championship game but were still big underdogs against the Griz. They dominated this one, however, taking a 21-0 lead at halftime and cruising to their first and only national championship.

2009: Villanova 23, Montana 21
The Grizzlies almost went one-and-done in these playoffs, needing a miraculous rally from down 27 points to South Dakota State in the first round to advance. From there they advanced to their second-straight title game, but again fell short.

Montana had a 14-3 lead after Jabin Sambrano’s 4-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter, but the Griz couldn’t hold it. Villanova answered back with three straight touchdowns to take a 23-14 lead, using a punishing running game to grind down the Grizzlies. The Wildcats rushed for 351 yards as a team to just 60 for Montana, overcoming a big receiving day from SDSU nemesis and future Pro Bowler Marc Mariani.

Matt Zimmer is a Sioux Falls native and longtime sports writer. He graduated from Washington High School where he played football, legion baseball and developed his lifelong love of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. After graduating from St. Cloud State University, he returned to Sioux Falls, and began a long career in amateur baseball and sports reporting. Email Matt at mzimmer@siouxfallslive.com.