South Dakota
FCS championship: Who has the edge between South Dakota State and Montana
South Dakota State is 0-8 all-time against Montana.
The Grizzlies are 0-3 in national championship games under Bobby Hauck.
One of those streaks ends Sunday.
Will it be SDSU repeating as FCS champions with their 29th win in a row?
Or will Montana pull the upset to claim their third title?
Here’s how we’re breaking down the matchup:
When the Jacks have the ball
Pick your poison. The SDSU running game averages more than six yards per carry with Isaiah Davis having rushed for nearly 3,000 yards in the past two seasons and Amar Johnson, Angel Johnson and quarterback Mark Gronowski dangerous ground threats as well.
Then there’s the passing game. Gronowski has completed 69 percent of his passes for 2,883 yards and 28 touchdowns with only four picks. He has four high-end targets in Jadon and Jaxon Janke, tight end Zach Heins and freshman Griffin Wilde. And it all operates behind an impenetrable offensive line of (left to right) Garret Greenfield, Mason McCormock, Gus Miller, Evan Beerntsen and John O’Brian.
Montana’s defense is good — they’re holding opponents to 311 yards per game, they can pressure the quarterback and create turnovers — but SDSU has the upper hand in personnel in this matchup.
ADVANTAGE: SDSU
Landon Dierks / Mitchell Republic
When the Griz have the ball
Much has been made of Montana’s two worst performances of the season — a 28-14 loss to Northern Arizona and an underwhelming 17-10 win over Division II Ferris State. But guess what — Clifton McDowell wasn’t the QB1 in either of those games.
He took over as the primary signal-caller Sept. 30 against Idaho State and the Griz haven’t lost since. He’s a serious threat as a runner with 751 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground, while Eli Gillman and Nick Ostmo give them a solid 1-2 punch at running back. The passing game hasn’t been as explosive, as McDowell averages about 170 yards per game as a starter, but he’s only been intercepted three times. The Griz have allowed 36 sacks, but many of them came with the less mobile Sam Vidlak under center.
SDSU’s defense comes in white hot — they pitched a shutout in two of their three playoff games and are holding their opponents to an absurd 9.7 points per game. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound McDowell will be a handful, but if the Jacks defense plays with the discipline they’ve shown throughout the season it’s hard to see them putting many points on the board.
ADANTAGE: SDSU
Special teams
Put simply, Montana wouldn’t be here without the explosive return game provided them by senior speedster Junior Bergen. The 5-11 wideout has three return touchdowns in the playoffs — a punt and kickoff return in their quarterfinal win over Furman and a punt return in the semis against NDSU. He has six total touchdown returns in his career. SDSU coach Jimmy Rogers has downplayed suggestions that the Jacks will go out of their way to kick away from Bergen, insisting they simply have to tackle. That could be playing with fire.
The Griz coverage teams have been outstanding, and punter Travis Benham has been solid, averaging 40.4 yards with 25 punts dropped inside the 20. The kicking game — split between Grant Glasgow and Nico Ramos — has been reliable inside 40 yards and inconsistent from deep.
Hunter Dustman has had a good year at both punter (43.7 average) and kicker (17-of-23 on field goals) for SDSU, and their coverage units have also excelled. SDSU has allowed 38 total punt return yards all season and an average of just 16 yards on kick returns. Tucker Large emerged as a weapon as a punt returner, averaging 18.9 yards with a touchdown.
ADVANTAGE: Even
Coaching
Montana head coach Bobby Hauck is an FCS legend. He led the Griz to Big Sky titles in each of his first seven seasons at the helm, left for UNLV (where he couldn’t turn the Runnin’ Rebels into a winner), and quickly led Montana back to FCS heavyweight status upon his return. He has an NFL braintrust aiding him, too, with former pro quarterback Timm Rosenbach and longtime NFL safety Tim Hauck (Bobby’s brother) serving as offensive and defensive analysts.
Rogers is a rookie head coach leading perhaps the youngest staff in college football, but it’s hard to find a single fault with any move he’s made this season. Young coordinators Zach Lujan and Jesse Bobbit have thrived in their roles, the addition of full-time special teams coach Pat Cashmore improved the team in that area, and Rogers’ hard-nosed attitude has given the team an added edge, while his former-player perspective makes his players ready to run through a wall for him.
ADVANTAGE: Even
Intangibles
Hauck is no doubt motivated to finally win his first national championship. He’s joked about how another loss would make him the Marv Levy of college football. And the Griz players should have a pretty sizable chip on their shoulder given that virtually nobody outside of their locker room gives them a chance to win. They’re undefeated with McDowell under center, dominated a Montana State team that nearly beat SDSU, and found ways to win in overtime in each of their last two playoff games. They’re hardly a sacrificial lamb.
But any notion that the Jacks are primed to overlook the Griz or lay an egg would be foolhardy. An incredible senior class has authored one of the most impressive stretches in FCS history, and are deadly focused to close it out with a 29th straight win. With Gronowski at the helm, the Jacks have one of the winningest players in college football history as their ace in the hole.
The Jacks are 0-8 all-time against Montana, including a pair of playoff losses. Rogers was there for both, and determined to make sure there’s a different ending this time around.
ADVANTAGE: SDSU
The call: SDSU 34-14
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.
A tornado watch has been issued for much of central and eastern South Dakota as forecasters warn conditions are favorable for tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds Wednesday evening.
The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center issued the watch at 4:05 p.m. CDT, and it will remain in effect until 11 p.m. It includes dozens of counties across central and eastern South Dakota, as well as parts of southeastern North Dakota and western Minnesota.
Forecasters expect thunderstorms to develop along and ahead of a cold front moving southeast across the Dakotas. The strongest storms could become supercells capable of producing all severe weather hazards.
The severe weather threat is expected to continue Thursday, when another round of strong to severe thunderstorms could develop across parts of South Dakota. Large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes will again be possible.
What are expected impacts of South Dakota storms?
Storms that remain isolated could produce tornadoes and very large hail before merging into a line of thunderstorms later in the evening, according to the Storm Prediction Center. Once storms organize into a line, damaging winds are expected to become the main threat, although brief tornadoes and hail will remain possible.
The National Weather Service office in Sioux Falls said portions of southeastern South Dakota face a Level 2 out of 5 risk for severe weather Wednesday evening. Atmospheric conditions include high instability, increasing wind shear and abundant moisture, creating an environment supportive of severe thunderstorms.
In addition to severe weather, some areas could receive heavy rainfall. Most locations are expected to receive between a quarter-inch and three-quarters of an inch of rain, although isolated areas could see more than an inch. Widespread flooding is not expected, but localized flooding could occur in areas that recently received heavy rainfall.
Where will storms hit in South Dakota?
Storms are expected to develop in central South Dakota between late afternoon and early evening before moving east through the night. Forecasters expect the strongest storms to reach the Interstate 29 corridor between about 10 p.m. and midnight.
Radar: Severe weather in South Dakota
South Dakota weather watches and warnings
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Brandi D. Addison covers weather across the United States as the Weather Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network. She can be reached at baddison@gannett.com.
See Republican Zach Lahn speak after primary win in governor’s race
GOP gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn speaks to his supporters during an election night watch party on June 2, 2026, in West Des Moines.
The makeup of the Legislature was up in the air as of 1 a.m. after South Dakota’s primary election.
Ten Republican state lawmakers ousted in 2024 are angling to get their seats back in 2026. Results were mixed for the nine who had primaries on Tuesday, with results still coming in for several races and others set for possible recounts.
Shawn Bordeaux of Rosebud won the state’s only Democratic primary, beating Troy “Luke” Lunderman for a chance to return to the state Senate.
Bordeaux will face Chamberlain Republican Rebecca Reimer in November’s general election. Reimer, who was term-limited in the state House of Representatives, beat Lower Brule Sen. Tamara Grove in Tuesday’s primary.
In Watertown’s District 5, Rep. Josephine Garcia fell in a state Senate primary to incumbent Sen. Glen Vilhauer. Garcia beat Byron Callies in the 2024 primary to earn her seat in the House of Representatives, but opted to challenge Vilhauer for his Senate seat instead of seeking reelection to the House.
Callies, Vilhauer and Garcia are all from Watertown.
Vilhauer won with 59% of the vote. His was one of the first state legislative victories of the night reported on the Secretary of State’s website.
Vilhauer won handily, but he said he wasn’t necessarily expecting to as polls opened on Tuesday.
“I knew it was going to be a battle going in,” Vilhauer said. “She worked hard on her side, and I didn’t know what to expect.”
Callies was among the first to call Vilhauer to congratulate him, around 9:30 p.m.
“I’m happy, because Glen’s a solid legislator,” said Callies, who’s angling to win his seat back in the general election.
Garcia did not return a call seeking comment.
In District 21, Sen. Mykala Voita of Bonesteel beat former Sen. Erin Tobin of Winner in a rematch of their 2024 contest, which Voita won by a few dozen votes that year. This time around, Voita bested Tobin by 1,002 votes.
In response to a request for comment, Voita sent a text reading “Glory to God!”
Tobin did not return a call from South Dakota Searchlight about her race after it was called, but said earlier in the evening she would be “at peace” with the results regardless of what they might be.
Another rematch saw Yanktonites Lauren Nelson and Jean Hunhoff battling for District 18’s state Senate seat. Nelson was a newcomer in 2024 when she beat Hunhoff, who’d spent decades in the Capitol between stints in the House and Senate. On Tuesday, Nelson held off Hunhoff, winning by 243 votes.
Other notable races
- District 4 Rep. Dylan Jordan of Clear Lake, first elected in 2024, finished fourth in a five-way race. As of 1 a.m. Wednesday, he trailed Ryan Kohl of Milbank and former Rep. Fred Deutsch of Florence, in first and second place, respectively. A recount is possible in that race, with 59 votes separating the top two vote-getters while Rep. Kent Roe, of Hayti, came in third place, with 72 fewer votes than Deutsch.
- District 4 has two possible recounts. In the other, Bryant’s Stephanie Sauder beat Clear Lake’s Tim Begalka by 105 votes in the unofficial tally from the Secretary of State.
- District 1 Rep. Logan Manhart of Aberdeen, elected in the 2024 primary, fell to Rep. Nick Fosness, a hospital administrator appointed by Gov. Larry Rhoden in 2025, and newcomer Daniel Kjos.
- Another recount was possible as of Wednesday at 1 a.m., in the District 16 race for House of Representatives. Rep. John Shubeck of Beresford trailed Lisa Bogue of Beresford by 245 votes in unofficial results. Jason VanDenTop of Canton was in third place, trailing Shubeck by 68 votes.
Vote totals incomplete
- Sen. John Carley of Piedmont, who won his first term in 2024, trailed William Meirose of Sturgis by 166 votes as of 1 a.m. Wednesday.
- Former Rep. Tyler Tordsen led Rep. Tony Kayser by two votes in the District 14 primary, with results still coming in. The Sioux Falls men are vying for second place and a spot on the November general election ballot alongside Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt of Sioux Falls, who led by more than 600 votes early Wednesday.
- District 28 Sen. Sam Marty of Prairie City was in a close race with former legislator Ryan Maher of Isabel.
- Former Rep. Gary Cammack of Union Center, who lost his seat in 2024, and Gary Deering of Hereford, led Reps. Terri Jorgenson of Piedmont and Kathy Rice of Blackhawk in the District 29 race.
- In District 30, Hot Springs Sen. Amber Hulse led former Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller of Rapid City by more than 1,300 votes.
- Former Sen. David Johnson of Rapid City led Sen. Curt Voight of Rapid City in a rematch of their 2024 race for District 33 Senate in early results.
- Rep. Heather Baxter of Rapid City has signaled her intention to challenge sitting Secretary of State Monae Johnson for the Republican nomination to that constitutional office at the state’s Republican Party convention this summer. In early results, Baxter trailed former Rapid City Rep. Becky Drury and Rep. Mike Derby in the District 34 primary.
- Early results in the District 35 primary put Sen. Greg Blanc, elected in 2024, in a close race with fellow Rapid City resident Nicole Mitzel.
South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
South Dakota
Republican businessman Toby Doeden advances to primary runoff in South Dakota governor’s race
Republican businessman Toby Doeden has advanced to a runoff in South Dakota governor’s race, NBC News projects.
Gov. Larry Rhoden, who replaced Kristi Noem last year when President Donald Trump nominated her to lead the Department of Homeland Security, was battling with Rep. Dusty Johnson and former state House Speaker Jon Hansen for a second spot in the July 28 runoff. The primary will go to a runoff because no candidate eclipsed 35% of the vote.
Trump did not issue an endorsement in the race. Doeden branded himself on his campaign website as “a total political outsider who’s tired of the government’s failure to deliver on its promises” and one of Trump’s “fiercest supporters.”
Rhoden, a former lieutenant governor, agriculture secretary and lawmaker, campaigned on property tax cuts and lowering crime in his bid for a four-year term.
Johnson is the state’s lone representative in the House, where he previously was chair of the Republican Main Street Caucus. Hansen, who was elected to the South Dakota House in 2010, held several leadership positions before he became speaker.
The Republican nominee will be the favorite to win the general election in the solidly red state this fall. A Democrat has not served as governor in South Dakota since the 1970s, and Trump carried the state by 29 points in 2024.
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