GameDay won't cover the FCS Game of the Year
Well, nine weeks in, what are ESPN's actions telling us?
No. 15 Mizzou at No. 10 Vanderbilt is a great story -- GameDay has already been to a Vandy game this season, but this is the show's first trip to Nashville since 2008 -- but, pound for pound, Tigers-Dores is not close to the biggest game in college football this weekend.
We've got a 1 vs. 2 game in FCS on Saturday. The last time South Dakota State lost to someone other than North Dakota State, it was the FCS semifinals of 2021. The Jackrabbits fell to Montana State, who would ultimately fall to North Dakota State in the FCS title game. The 'Rabbits then ripped off 34 straight wins over sub-FBS competition until losing to NDSU in the Fargodome last October, in another 1 vs. 2 game. The teams met again in the Fargodome in the FCS semifinals, and again the Bison came out on top, 28-21.
North Dakota State and South Dakota State have won the last four FCS national championships, and 12 of the last 14 (though 10 of those belong to the Bison). At least one of these programs has played for the FCS title every year but one since 2011, and the only team to beat NDSU in an FCS National Championship since the Bison claimed ownership of the entire subdivision was South Dakota State.
So, we've established that the Bison and the Jackrabbits are really, really good. What about Saturday's game (8 p.m. ET, ESPNU)?
Well, I regret to inform you that that defending national champion Bison are once again an absolute unit. NDSU leads FCS in scoring defense, total defense, passing yards allowed, and passing efficiency, and they're top-10 in a collection of other statistics. The most important: sixth in scoring offense (43.6 points per game), pass efficiency defense, turnover margin, third down offense, third down defense. The list goes on and on. No one has played this team to within 17 points, and only No. 18 Illinois State managed to do that. After Cam Miller led FCS in passing efficiency last season, senior Cole Payton has stepped in to once again lead the nation by a relative mile -- 74 percent passing for 12.9 per attempt with 11 touchdowns against one pick. The key statistic there may be that Payton has only had to throw 121 passes through seven games, because NDSU is fifth in the nation in rushing at 242 yards per game and hasn't trailed in the second half for one second all season long.
If you're SDSU, how do you possibly win this game? You've got to lean into your relative strengths. The offense isn't as efficient as NDSU's, but the defense is neck-and-neck with the Bison. SDSU is also as good as anyone at turning people over: they've forced multiple turnovers in all but one game, and swiped four interceptions in each of their past two outings.
That's a narrow road map to victory, sure, but beating NDSU is not easy. No one knows that more than South Dakota State.