Brookings, South Dakota — The South Dakota State University football team will vie for a return trip to the Football Championship Subdivision title game as it travels Saturday to take on eighth-seeded Montana State in semifinal action.
Kickoff is set for noon Mountain Time (1 p.m. Central) at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Montana. The game will be televised before a national audience on ESPN2.
South Dakota State, ranked 11th in the final regular season polls conducted by Stats Perform (media) and the FCS coaches, is making its fourth semifinal appearance in the last five seasons. The Jackrabbits improved to 11-3 overall with a 35-21 victory Dec. 11 at fifth-seeded Villanova. SDSU is the lone unseeded team remaining out of the four squads still alive in the FCS playoffs.
The Jackrabbits will be playing their fourth postseason game in as many different time zones. SDSU opened with a 56-24 home win over UC Davis in the Central Time Zone on Nov. 27, followed by a 24-19 victory in the Pacific Time Zone Dec. 4 at fourth-seeded Sacramento State. The Jacks then criss-crossed the country to the Eastern Time Zone for their win last week in Pennsylvania at Villanova.
Montana State, which ended the regular season ranked seventh and ninth, respectively, received an opening-round bye as the No. 8 seed. The Bobcats downed UT Martin, 26-7, in their playoff opener Dec. 4 in Bozeman, then knocked off top-seeded and defending national champion Sam Houston, 42-19, Dec. 11 in Huntsville, Texas, to improve to 11-2 overall.
