South Dakota State football will take on Montana with a chance to repeat as FCS national champions on Sunday. It’ll be the Jackrabbits’ third national championship game appearance in program history while the Grizz will be playing for their third national title.
It will be Montana’s seventh appearance in the FCS/I-AA national championship game.
Here’s everything you need to know about Montana heading into Sunday’s FCS title game.
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Coaching pedigree
Bobby Hauck became the 37th head football coach at the University of Montana, his second stint with the program, on Nov. 30, 2017. The 2023 campaign was his fifth year as the Grizzlies head coach this time around and his 17th overall year as a college football head coach.
He began his coaching career with the Grizzlies in 1988 after earning a bachelor’s degree in business and physical education at Montana in 1987.
Hauck’s first tenure as head coach at Montana was from 2003-2009 when he won more games than any other coach in FCS football, led the Grizzlies to three national championship appearances and won seven-consecutive Big Sky Conference championships.
His winning percentage of 82% was the highest in the FCS at the time, and he led Montana to three perfect seasons in Big Sky play, winning at least a share of the conference title in each of his seven seasons.
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From 2010-2014 Hauck served as head coach and special teams coordinator at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. In 2015 he left UNLV to accept a special teams coordinator position at San Diego State under legendary head coach Rocky Long.
Hauck returned to his alma mater in 2017 after eight years away.
In 2018, Hauck became the winningest coach in Montana history, surpassing Don Read, with 86 wins in eight seasons. Hauck is also the winningest coach in Big Sky Conference history, surpassing former NAU coach and longtime Montana assistant Jerome Souers’ career total of 123 with a win over Sacramento State in 2023.
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The quarterback is a playmaker
Senior quarterback Clifton McDowell entered fall camp hoping to just compete for the starting job, but by Montana’s third conference game, he was the undisputed No. 1 QB.
A fifth-year player, McDowell previously played for Louisiana, Kilgore and Central Arkansas. In high school, he was regarded as the 34th-best dual quarterback in the class of 2019.
This season McDowell helped lead Montana to the 68th best passing offense in the FCS – the Grizz passed for 196.8 yards per game – and the 21st ranked rushing offense. He averaged 132.9 passing yards per game, 53.6 rushing yards per game and he finished the season with 13 passing touchdowns and nine rushing touchdowns.
McDowell’s best game of Montana’s playoff run was against Furman in the quarterfinals when he threw for 208 yards and rushed for 118.
University of Montana football history
Montana has been a perennial Big Sky contender, but Sunday will mark their first trip back to the national championship game since 2009.
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The Grizz have won 18 conference championships and finished as runners-up on 13 occasions. Montana has finished either first or second in the Big Sky in 30 of the league’s 58 seasons.
The Grizz have played in a total of seven national title games and won two of them, in 1995 and 2001. Montana has made the playoffs 26 times; they’ve played in the quarterfinals 14 times and made the semifinals 10 times.
How the Grizz have fared this season
The Grizz ended the regular season with a 10-1 record and a 7-1 conference record.
They notched wins over four ranked opponents including No. 18 UC Davis, No. 3 Idaho, No. 7 Sacramento State, and No. 4 Montana State.
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Montana has showcased some late-game heroics during their run to the FCS title game, winning in overtime during the quarterfinals against Furman and knocking off North Dakota State in the semifinals in a double OT thriller.
Jonathan Fernandez covers high school and college sports for the Argus Leader. Contact him at jfernandez1@argusleader.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFERN31
The Western Michigan Broncos (2-3) hit the court against the South Dakota Coyotes (4-1) on Wednesday, November 20, 2024 at 7:00 PM ET on ESPN+. Below, we analyze the Western Michigan vs. South Dakota odds and lines around this game.
The Broncos and the Coyotes meet with no line currently set for the matchup.
Western Michigan has compiled a 2-2-0 record against the spread this season, while South Dakota is 0-2-0. The Broncos have gone over the point total in two games, while Coyotes games have gone over one time.
Here’s everything you need to prepare for Wednesday’s college basketball action.
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Check out: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll
Western Michigan vs. South Dakota prediction
South Dakota 86, Western Michigan 71
Against the spread
Western Michigan has a record of 2-2-0 against the spread this season.
The 71.8 points per game the Broncos put up are the same as the Coyotes give up.
The Coyotes score an average of 86.0 points per game, 18.2 more points than the 67.8 the Broncos give up to opponents.
South Dakota is 0-2 against the spread and 4-1 overall when it scores more than 67.8 points.
Western Michigan’s record is 2-2 against the spread and 2-3 overall when it allows fewer than 86.0 points.
Players to watch
Western Michigan
Javaughn Hannah posts a team-best 12.0 points per game. He is also posting 3.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists, shooting 46.9% from the floor and 33.3% from beyond the arc with 1.0 made 3-pointers per game.
Owen Lobsinger is tops on his team in rebounds per contest (7.8), and also averages 11.0 points and 1.6 assists. At the other end, he posts 0.6 steals and 0.2 blocked shots.
Markhi Strickland is putting up 10.2 points, 1.8 assists and 2.6 rebounds per contest.
South Dakota
Chase Forte tops the Coyotes in assists (3.6 per game), and produces 12.0 points and 2.2 rebounds. He also puts up 2.0 steals and 0.2 blocked shots.
Isaac Bruns is posting team highs in points (14.0 per game) and assists (0.4). And he is delivering 4.4 rebounds, making 54.5% of his shots from the floor and 27.3% from beyond the arc, with 1.2 treys per game.
Quandre Bullock is posting 9.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest, making 47.2% of his shots from the floor and 34.8% from beyond the arc, with 1.6 treys per game.
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(AP) — Aidan Bouman threw three touchdown passes, Charles Pierre Jr. and Travis Theis both ran for more than 100 yards and a touchdown and South Dakota held on to beat North Dakota 42-36 on Saturday.
Theis, who had 150 yards on 16 carries, scored on an 8-yard run early in the fourth quarter to make it 35-21. Then Pierre, who had 173 yards on 15 carries, broke loose for a 76-yard touchdown to stretch the lead to three touchdowns with 9:35 to play.
Simon Romfo scored on a 7-yard run and then found Bo Belquist for a 3-yard touchdown pass and threw a 2-point conversion with 23 seconds left.
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But the Coyotes (8-2, 6-1 Missouri Valley Football Conference), the No. 5 team in the FCS coaches poll, recovered the onside kick to set up a showdown with top-ranked North Dakota State next week.
Sawyer Seidl scored on a 51-yard run to give North Dakota a 7-0 lead after one quarter. Romfo threw short touchdown passes to Nick Kupfer and Quincy Vaughn and Bouman matched that, hitting Carter Bell and Quaron Adams, but the Fighting Hawks (5-6, 2-5) led 21-17 at the break.
South Dakota took the lead on a 53-yard Bouman-to-Pierre connection four plays into the second half.
Bouman was 15 of 21 for 190 yards as the Coyotes had 512 total yards. Romfo was 20 of 30 for 180 as North Dakota finished with 322 yards.
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