South Dakota
Five seeded teams win in second round of FCS playoffs
No. 1 South Dakota State won its 26th straight game Saturday, beating Mercer 41-0 in the second round of the FCS playoffs. The Jackrabbits are the defending national champions and haven’t lost since dropping a 7-3 decision to Iowa on Sept. 3, 2022.
South Dakota State was one of five seeded teams to win Saturday in the six games that have been completed. No. 6 Montana State was the only seeded team to lose, dropping a 35-34 decision to North Dakota State.
Saturday’s other scores: No. 3 South Dakota 34, Sacramento State 24; No. 5 UAlbany 41, Richmond 13; No. 7 Furman 26, Chattanooga 7; No. 8 Villanova 45, Youngstown State 28.
There are two more games to be played today: Delaware at No. 2 Montana at 9 p.m. ET; and Southern Illinois at No. 4 Idaho at 10 p.m. ET.
Saturday’s winners advance to next week’s quarterfinal round.
Hunter Poncius, center, came up with the game-winning block for North Dakota State on Saturday. (Tim Sanger / NDSU Athletics)
Saturday’s highlights
- South Dakota State finished with 571 yards of offense, 346 rushing and 225 passing.
- North Dakota State won its game on a blocked extra point in overtime.
- Furman trailed early 7-0 but scored the final 26 points of its game.
- Richmond outgained UAlbany 314 yards to 311 but lost the turnover battle 3-2.
- South Dakota quarterback Aidan Bouman completed 11 of 16 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns.
- Villanova quarterback Connor Watkins completed passes to eight receivers for 275 yards.
Quarterfinal matchups
After Saturday’s games, there will be eight teams alive in the playoffs. Here are next week’s matchups:
No. 8 Villanova vs. No. 1 South Dakota State
Southern Illinois-No. 4 Idaho winner vs. No. 5 UAlbany
Sacramento State -No. 3 South Dakota winner vs. North Dakota State
Delaware-No. 2 Montana winner vs. No. 7 Furman
(Photo of Isaiah Davis: Zoey Schentzel / South Dakota State Athletics)