For the second year in a row South Dakota State (14-0) will play for a national title. The Jackrabbits have been the #1 team in the country wire to wire this year and have not lost a game since Week 1 of the 2022 season (that’s 28 straight for those counting). SDSU has it all. Their offense is lethal, their defense is stonewalling and even their special teams is electric. Many picked the Jacks to run the table this year and win it all again. Those picks look to be well-founded as they boys in blue are now one victory away from doing just that.
The modern will meet the storied as one of the FCS’ great historical powers lines up across the Jackrabbits. Montana (13-1) has strung together an incredible season and turned a ton of heads on their run to this stage. The 2-seed Grizzlies turned their season around after an ugly loss back in September to Northern Arizona and haven’t looked back. Making their first appearance in Frisco (the last time UM was in a national championship the game was still in Chattanooga), the Griz will take the underdog role but they look far from one.
The Coaches
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Photo by Tommy Martino/University of Montana/Getty Images
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Grizzlies head coach Bobby Hauck has had a love-hate relationship with the FCS title game. This Saturday Hauck will coach in his fourth one but he has yet to walk out a champion. UM played in the 2004, 2008 and 2009 championships under his guidance but came up short in all three. This is now Hauck’s 13th year coaching the Griz but it’s his second stint. From 2010 to 2014 he served as the head man at UNLV. Hauck is the winningest head coach in Big Sky history with 129 victories and led Montana through some very dominant years in the 2000s. With an overall postseason record of 21-13, he’s as experienced in the big moments as any at the DI level.
Roaming the Jackrabbits sideline will be first-year phenom Jimmy Rogers. Rogers played a major role on the team as an assistant under John Stigelmeier and was part of the championship squad from a season ago. Now, though, he’s calling the shots and SDSU is as good as ever. Rogers has yet to lose a game since being named the head coach and the Jacks are winning by an average of 28 points per contest this season. Rogers won this year’s Eddie Robinson Award for his unblemished work in Brookings and will be looking to become the first FCS head coach to win a national championship in their first season since NDSU’s Matt Entz did it in 2019.
Montana Offense vs South Dakota State Defense
Much of Montana’s success in this game will hinge on how well quarterback Clifton McDowell can handle SDSU’s smashmouth defense. The Jackrabbits were the second best team in the country at stopping the run this year, allowing just 92.6 yards per game on the ground. McDowell likes to scramble to keep plays alive with his feet but the Jacks sacked opposing QBs 24 times. The between UM’s front and the South Dakota State big boys will be pivotal.
McDowell is effective, though, from under center and did throw for 1,861 yards and 13 touchdowns this year along with just three picks. Take into account the fact that he didn’t start until the fifth game of the year and those numbers aren’t too shabby. McDowell will not shy away from using his legs also, rushing for 751 yards and nine more scores.
Helping McDowell out of the backfield will be standout freshman running back Eli Gillman. The recipient of this year’s Jerry Rice Award, Gillman has been a lynchpin for Montana’s offense. He’s run for 950 yards and 12 scores this year while averaging 5.1 yards per carry. Gillman has tremendous vision and patience when looking for holes in the line. He will try and navigate the SDSU defense which hasn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher this season.
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Linebackers Jason Freeman and Isaiah Stalbird are big contributors to the Jackrabbits’ success on defense. Freeman leads the team with 96 total tackles while Stalbird is right behind him with 75. Each are also ball magnets when it comes to turnovers with Freeman being responsible for three fumble recoveries along with two picks and Stalbird nabbing one interception and forcing three fumbles. The pair is arguably the best one-two punch over the middle in the entire FCS.
It is very likely that the Griz will have to pass the ball to win this game and when they do, receivers Keelan White and Junior Bergen will be the go to guys. White, who has a team-high 779 receiving yards this fall, averages over 15 yards per catch. Bergen is speedy and has 55 receptions this year. McDowell may also look to junior wideout Aaron Fontes who has shown flashes this season although he’s been held relatively in check during the playoffs.
Dalys Beanum will look to counter the Montana areal attack. The senior cornerback has been an asset for South Dakota State’s secondary during the postseason, picking off a pass in each of their three playoff games thus far. He and safety Tucker Large, who has four interceptions this year, each have seven defended passes. The pair will get the job of guarding White and Bergen.
South Dakota State Offense vs Montana Defense
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Photo by Bailey Hillesheim/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
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Simply put, if the Grizzlies do not have some sort of remedy for Isaiah Davis they are in for a long, long afternoon. The bruising senior running back has always seemed to elevate his game to another level when the postseason comes around and it’s been no different this year. Over South Dakota State’s three playoff games, Davis has found the end zone six times and has put up over 100 yards in each of those contests. On the year as a whole, he has run for 1,491 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Stopping Davis is a job that will fall on Montana’s athletic linebackers. Braxton Hill and Tyler Flink have been monsters in the middle for UM all year. The pair have racked up 193 total stops between them and are responsible for 12 tackles for loss. They have slowed down several high-octane rushing attacks this year including the likes of NDSU and Montana State. Davis and company, though, may be the toughest unit they’ve seen yet.
Signal-caller Mark Gronowski will also be a major thorn in the side of UM’s defense. Gronowski is coming in on the tail end of a stellar year in which he’s thrown for 2,883 yards and 28 scores, efforts that have made him a finalist for the Walter Payton Award. Gronowski is very good at taking care of the football, having only thrown four interceptions this year. He has also rushed for 349 yards and seven TDs. He’s consistently been one of the FCS’ best QBs over the last few years and Montana is going to have its hands full.
One thing that makes Gronowski so deadly is the plethora of pass catchers he has on any given play. Receivers Jadon and Jaxon Janke are reliable as ever on the outside as is tight end Zach Heins. The Janke brothers have combined for 1,634 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns this year. Heins averages 14.8 yards per catch and has seven scores as well. The aforementioned Davis also has no problem catching passes when need be.
So again, the Grizzlies will have a lot to deal with. Fortunately for them, Ryder Meyer and Corbin Walker will be patrolling the secondary. Walker has been great at corner for Montana all year, knocking away eight passes and intercepting two more. The junior safety Meyer has also has a pick and four PBUs.
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The Special Teams
Do not kick the ball to Junior Bergen under any circumstances. That’s the code South Dakota State needs to live by when it’s time to change possessions on Saturday. If the Jacks can learn anything from Montana’s playoff film it’s that putting the ball in Bergen’s hands in the return game is playing with fire. The dynamic junior has taken three kicks (two punts, one kickoff) back for touchdowns during this postseason alone. He has five total on his career. The Griz won their last two games narrowly in overtime and Bergen’s house calls were the difference maker.
That burden will fall on kicker Hunter Dustman. The senior will handle both the punting and the kicking for SDSU. He has a strong leg, averaging nearly 44 yards per punt. He has only had two touchbacks all season when booting it away although as a team South Dakota State doesn’t find itself punting all that much. Dustman has also connected on 17 of his 23 field goal tries and has a career long make of 49 yards.
For Montana, the kicking duties will go to senior Nico Ramos. Ramos, despite making the first seven field goals he attempted this fall, has struggled in that department during the playoffs. He’s missed three field goals dating back to the Grizzlies’ quarterfinal game. He does, however, have several makes from over 40 yards. Travis Benham will punt for the Griz. Benham has pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line 25 times this year and has forced a fair catch 27 times.
Just as he is on defense, Large is a weapon in the return game for the Jacks. He has 21 punt runbacks this year and took one the distance in SDSU’s semifinal win over UAlbany. Large has racked up nearly 400 total return yards this year. Amar Johnson will take kickoffs. He does not have a touchdown this season but is averaging 23.5 yards a pop.
Prediction
This game has the makings to be a great one but a few things will have to work in Montana’s favor if the Griz want to keep this thing within striking distance. Special teams has to show up for UM again and it very likely will. Expect Bergen to make a big play in the return game. Will that big play be enough though? Or will it come at the right time? The Grizzlies will also need to contend with a very tough South Dakota State defense and that’s where the difference will be made. McDowell has done a solid job this postseason but he will need a darn-near perfect performance against Freeman, Stalbird and that unit. It’ll be close for a while but, eventually, the heavy doses of Gronowski and Davis will wear out Montana’s D and that will wrap it up for SDSU.
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Score Prediction: South Dakota State: 31 – Montana: 23
MITCHELL, S.D. – Several cranes tower above a busy construction site along state Highway 37 south of Mitchell where work is rapidly progressing on a $500 million grain plant that will be the latest addition to South Dakota’s growing agricultural processing industry.
For generations, the state has served as an agricultural production hub in the Great Plains, growing millions of bushels of corn and soybeans and raising millions of cows and hogs annually. For many years, most of the state’s high-output food producers shipped their goods to be processed at plants elsewhere.
As those commodities left the state, so too did the businesses and jobs needed to process agricultural products into their final form. Rural communities in South Dakota lost the potential for growth in local employment, housing and economic development generated by agricultural processing plants.
“Historically, for some reason, here in South Dakota we’ve been content to raise commodities — corn, soybeans, cattle and hogs – and ship them out of state for processing,” said Scott VanderWal, president of the South Dakota Farm Bureau.
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But over the past 30 years, and with increasing frequency in recent years, the state agricultural industry has begun to take advantage of what insiders refer to as “added value.” The term refers to the ability of those in the agriculture industry to generate more revenue from a single product. For instance, growing corn and then using it for food products, animal feed and in ethanol production.
By processing soybeans closer to where they are grown, South Dakota farmers can grow and sell more grain, which leads to spin-off revenues for a host of businesses, including in transportation, fuel, feed and machinery.
“We’re now finding out that we can make a little more money, generate local economic activity and create more jobs if we start adding value to the things we produce,” VanderWal told News Watch.
Details reveal size, scope of new plant
The High Plains Processing plant, now under construction 2 miles south of Mitchell, is being built by South Dakota Soybean Processors, a farmer-owned business that has a soybean plant in Miller and another in Volga, where the company is headquartered.
CEO Tom Kersting said the new plant will provide good-paying jobs now and well into the future and create new revenues for a host of businesses and farmers throughout the region. It will also generate significant new property taxes for local governments and sales taxes for state government, he said.
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The soybean plant under construction south of Mitchell, S.D., shown on Oct. 17, 2024, is well-positioned to transport products with its proximity to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad line and Interstate 90. (Photo: Bart Pfankuch / South Dakota News Watch)
Construction costs are estimated to be about $500 million, and the target date for operations to begin is October 2025, Kersting told News Watch. The plant will be able to process soybeans as well as sunflower seeds and other grain products if market conditions warrant, he said.
Finished products will mainly include oils and animal feed. The plant will have capacity to process 100,000 bushels of soybeans a day (about 35 million bushels a year), which makes it the second-largest plant behind the AGP soybean plant in Aberdeen, which has an annual capacity of 50 million bushels.
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The Mitchell plant has about 300 construction workers on site now and expects to employ 75 to 85 full-time employees once operational. The expansion will create another dozen or so positions that will work at the company offices in Volga in support of the plant.
Kersting said the addition of new, consistent capacity for grain products at the Mitchell plant should not only stabilize but also increase the prices paid to local soybean and sunflower farmers.
“Without it, you’d be much more dependent on the export markets for pricing,” he said. “By having the demand locally, and having it year-round, there’s an opportunity for higher prices for farmers.”
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Other than soybean oil, these three bags contain the other major products produced at the AGP soybean plant in Aberdeen, S.D. Photographed on Oct. 23, 2024, the bags (left to right) contain soybean hulls, pelleted soybean hulls and hulls. (Photo: Bart Pfankuch / South Dakota News Watch)
In addition to oils, used in biofuels and in some food products, the plant will also produce seed meal that is used to feed animals, mainly hogs and poultry, he said. Kersting said that once fully processed, a 60-pound bushel of soybeans will yield about 44 pounds of meal feed, 11 pounds of oil and 4 pounds of husks, with a slight amount of moisture loss making up the final pound.
The new plant will be strategically located just 2 miles from Interstate 90 and within shouting distance of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad line, Kersting said.
Benefit to Mitchell and well beyond
The excitement over the plant’s potential for economic benefits is palpable even in a brief conversation with David Lambert, regional development director for the Mitchell Area Chamber of Commerce.
“We’re just tickled,” he said. “From our perspective, we feel that the impact is going to be huge.”
Lambert said the plant’s economic impact will be felt most in Mitchell, where he expects many workers will live and spend money. The plant will create new revenue opportunities in several economic sectors, including housing, grocery, retail and transportation, he said. Nearby cities and towns will also see benefits, not only from increased capacity to sell grain but also in the same tangential ways Mitchell will benefit economically, he said.
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The regional farm economy will also see a big boost, Lambert said. For instance, the new demand for soybeans created by the plant could raise the price of beans by 20 cents per bushel, which could generate $6 million a year in new income for area grain producers, he said.
“We know that when farmers have money, they spend that money, and they tend to do it locally,” Lambert said. “So the regional impact is so huge, and that is even after you take into account the 75 new, well-paid employees with an annual payroll over $4 million.”
Lambert said the chamber has already heard from businesses directly or indirectly related to the grain industry that are eyeing a potential move to or expansion within the regional Mitchell market.
“We’ve already started to see some new opportunities from folks who want to take advantage of the economic activity that will be created by the plant,” he said.
A value-added revolution in South Dakota
The South Dakota processing expansion began in earnest roughly 35 years ago when Poet biofuels began production of ethanol from corn in Scotland in the late 1980s. Since then, ethanol production has expanded to nine companies processing 740 million bushels into roughly 1.3 billion gallons of ethanol worth about $3 billion annually.
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South Dakota could see a huge economic benefit from the $1 billion Net-Zero 1 plant proposed by the company Gevo for a site east of Lake Preston, where corn would be processed into sustainable biofuel for jets. Officials from Colorado-based Gevo said the proposed plant, which recently received a $1.46 billion commitment from the Department of Energy Loan Programs Office, could create thousands of jobs once operational.
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The state has also seen rapid expansion of milk processing, with new or expanded cheesemaking plants in Milbank (Valley Queen Cheese), Brookings (Bel Brands) and Lake Norden (Agropur). The increased processing capacity has allowed the state’s population of milk cows to more than double over roughly the past decade, from 91,000 cows in 2012 to about 210,000 in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
According to the USDA, South Dakota dairy farmers produced 4.5 billion pounds of milk in 2023, up from 3.1 billion pounds in 2020 and 2 billion pounds in 2013.
The AGP plant in Aberdeen, S.D., shown on Oct. 23, 2024, is the state’s largest soybean processing plant with an annual capacity of 50 million bushels. (Photo: Bart P{Pfankuch / South Dakota News Watch)
Agricultural processing plants serve as major employers in several South Dakota cities. The Dakota Provisions pork and poultry plant in Huron has variable employment that can range from 600 to 1,000. The state’s largest soybean plant, the AGP plant in Aberdeen that opened in 2019 at a cost of $300 million, has about 60 full-time workers.
In addition to jobs in the plant and an increase in production capacity for individual farmers, increased processing of commodities closer to where South Dakota farmers produce them creates jobs and revenue for local trucking companies, parts and maintenance firms, fuel providers and sellers of machinery, VanderWal said.
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“We’re providing jobs or creating economic activity because those processing plants need supplies and parts and people to run them, and all those things that go along with that,” he said.
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VanderWal said recent efforts to expand in-state processing of beef cattle, as reported by News Watch in 2023, would also generate new income and reduce costs for South Dakota ranchers, who raised 3.5 million cattle and calves in 2023, according to USDA data.
On Nov. 13, 2024, a 30,000-square-foot beef plant proposed for a site just north of New Underwood in Pennington County was awarded a $600,000 South Dakota Works Loan from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development for first-year operational funding.
“In the cattle industry, especially years ago, most of our feeder cattle actually got shipped out of state for feeding even, and then further processing,” he said. “We’ve put a lot of effort in the last few years into feeding them here. So we’re using our own feed stuff, so corn, basically, and silage and things like that. So then the next step to avoid having to haul them so far when they’re finished and ready for market, is to process them here.”
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This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit news organization. Read more in-depth stories at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email every few days to get stories as soon as they’re published. Contact Bart Pfankuch at bart.pfankuch@sdnewswatch.org.
GEORGE TOWN, George Town (AP) — Kalen Garry scored 20 points as South Dakota State beat Duquesne 71-60 on Sunday at the Cayman Islands Classic.
Garry also had five rebounds for the Jackrabbits (5-1). Oscar Cluff scored 17 points while shooting 6 of 10 from the field and 5 for 6 from the free-throw line and added 11 rebounds and five assists. Matthew Mors had 15 points and shot 4 of 7 from the field, including 1 for 3 from 3-point range, and went 6 for 8 from the foul line.
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The Dukes (0-5) were led by Tre Dinkins, who recorded 19 points and two steals. Maximus Edwards added 11 points for Duquesne. Jake DiMichele finished with 10 points.
South Dakota State was tied with Duquesne at the half, 33-33, with Garry (12 points) its high scorer before the break. Joe Sayler’s 3-pointer with 8:54 remaining in the second half gave South Dakota State the lead for good at 52-51.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
UNI’s Parker Keckeisen discusses matchup with Carter Starocci
Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen discusses matchup with Carter Starocci, season ahead
As expected, Northern Iowa wrestling’s dual vs. South Dakota State on Sunday went down to the wire.
Senior heavyweight Lance Runyon and his 7-2 win over No. 28 Luke Rasmussen was the final decider, as the Southeast Polk alum’s takedown and two reversals tied the dual at 15 each by the end of the event, with UNI winning by criteria with the most bout points scored.
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The teams evenly split all 10 bouts, with zero bonus-point victories. While the Jackrabbits brought a tough team to the UNI-Dome, with multiple highly ranked wrestlers, several former Hawkeyes and native Iowans in the lineup, Runyon’s heroics in the dual made the difference.
A pair of wrestlers returned to the mat for UNI after missing all of last season with injury in Kyle Gollhofer at 125 pounds and Cory Land at 133 pounds. Both looked stout against ranked opponents, as Gollhoffer lost an overtime bout with No. 5 Tanner Jordan and Land scrambled his way to a 9-7 win over No. 24 Derrick Cardinal.
To lead 9-6 at the break, Cael Happel picked up a 4-1 win by decision over Julian Tagg at 141 pounds and Ryder Downey secured a stout 8-1 win over No. 17 Cobe Siebrecht, a former Iowa Hawkeye NCAA qualifier at 157 pounds.
The Jackrabbits roared back with a pair of wins by decisions form former Hawkeye Drake Rhodes over Jack Thomsen (12-7), followed by Southeast Polk alum and No. 3 Cade Devos coming back to defeat No. 19 Jared Simma to take a 12-9 lead.
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Following a win by decision for No. 2 Parker Keckeisen over No. 4 Bennett Berge in his dual debut of the season after winning a national title, another former Hawkeye in No. 8 Zach Glazier scored the lone takedown of the match against No. 15 Wyatt Voelker to put SDSU up 15-12 heading into the last match.
With Runyon’s win, the dual was tied 15-15 in the team score, but the Panthers outscored the Jackrabbits 62-51 in total match points to win by 16-15 by criteria.
UNI Wrestling vs. South Dakota State box score
125: Tanner Jordan (SDSU) over Kyle Gollhofer (UNI) (SV-1 7-4)
133: Cory Land (UNI) over Derrick Cardinal (SDSU) (Dec 9-7)
141: Cael Happel (UNI) over Julian Tagg (SDSU) (Dec 4-1)
149: Colin Dupill (SDSU) over Adam Allard (UNI) (Dec 7-6)
157: Ryder Downey (UNI) over Cobe Siebrecht (SDSU) (Dec 8-1)
165: Drake Rhodes (SDSU) over Jack Thomsen (UNI) (Dec 12-7)
174: Cade DeVos (SDSU) over Jared Simma (UNI) (Dec 7-6)
184: Parker Keckeisen (UNI) over Bennett Berge (SDSU) (Dec 8-3)
197: Zach Glazier (SDSU) over Wyatt Voelker (UNI) (Dec 4-3)
285: Lance Runyon (UNI) over Luke Rasmussen (SDSU) (Dec 7-2)
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
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