No. 4 South Dakota vs. No. 1 Montana State: Preview, how to watch, updates

Here’s how to watch the 2024 FCS semifinal game between South Dakota and Montana State:

Here are some of the top storylines and players to watch entering this year’s FCS semifinal game between South Dakota and Montana State.

Storylines

• How they got here
  • South Dakota ended the regular season with plenty of momentum after knocking off North Dakota State in a top-five matchup. Once the postseason started, the Coyotes rallied past Tarleton State in an explosive second-round win before beating UC Davis without ever trailing in the quarterfinals.
  • Montana State has dominated the competition all season long as the only undefeated team remaining in the FCS. The Bobcats haven’t played a close game in the playoffs after averaging 50.5 points scored and a 32.5 margin of victory in two games.
• Past matchups
  • Montana State and South Dakota have only met once in the two program’s histories. The Bobcats won the lone matchup in 2008, 37-18.
• Coaching
  • Two Coaches of the Year will meet in the semifinals. Big Sky Coach of the Year Brent Vigen will face MVFC Coach of the Year Bob Nielson. Vigen was also named the Eddie Robinson Award winner as the FCS coach of the year.
• What’s at stake
  • South Dakota is in uncharted territory making its first-ever semifinal appearance. It’s only the fourth FCS playoff season in Coyote history. Meanwhile, Montana State is still chasing its 1984 FCS championship. The Bobcats have only made one return to the title game since (2021), the first year of the Brent Vigen-Tommy Mellott era.

Players to Watch

Here are some players to watch from South Dakota

• MVFC Offensive Player of the Year: DL Mi’Quise Grace

South Dakota All-MVFC Players

• 1st Team | RB Charles Pierre Jr.
• 1st Team | FB Travis Theis
• 1st Team | OL Joey Lombard
• 1st Team | TE JJ Galbreath
• 1st Team | DL Nick Gaes
• 1st Team | DL Mi’Quise Grace
• 1st Team | DB Dennis Shorter
• 2nd Team | OL Joe Cotton
• 2nd Team | OL Bryce Henderson
• 2nd Team | DL Blake Holden
• 2nd Team | LB Gary Bryant III
• 2nd Team | DB Mike Reid

Here are some players to watch from Montana State

• Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year: QB Tommy Mellott
• Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year: DL Brody Grebe
• Big Sky Freshman of the Year: RB Adam Jones

Montana State All-Big Sky Players

• 1st Team | QB Tommy Mellott
• 1st Team | RB Scottre Humphrey
• 1st Team | FB Rohan Jones
• 1st Team | OL Marcus Wehr (unanimous)
• 1st Team | OL Conner Moore
• 1st Team | DL Brody Grebe (unanimous)
• 1st Team | LB McCade O’Reilly
• 1st Team | DB Rylan Ortt
• 1st Team | PR Taco Dowler
• 2nd Team | OL Titan Fleischmann
• 2nd Team | OL Cole Sain
• 2nd Team | DL Paul Brott
• 2nd Team | LB Danny Uluilakep
• 2nd Team | DB Andrew Powdrell
• 2nd Team | P Brendan Hall

South Dakota was ranked No. 3 and Montana State was ranked No. 1 in the FCS Coaches Poll and the Coyotes were ranked No. 4 and the Bobcats No. 1 in the STATS Perform Poll to close the regular season. Here’s how the programs stack up based on this season’s results.