CFB-FCS: Big Sky Conference Semi-Finals Playoffs Release & Preview

BIG SKY ON VERGE OF 17TH TRIP TO FCS TITLE GAME

If No. 1 Montana State should defeat No. 4 South Dakota on Saturday, the Big Sky will officially move into sole possession of second place for most FCS national title game appearances for a conference.

SEMI-FINALS SCHEDULE

Saturday, December 21, 2024

#4 South Dakota Coyotes (11-2) at #1 Montana State Bobcats (14-0)

INSIDE THE SERIES

• South Dakota and Montana State are set to meet for just the third time in series history on Saturday.
• Both prior meetings (2008, 2009) were in Bozeman with Montana State playing both.
• The 2009 game went to overtime, the only overtime game in the series.
• Saturday marks the first-ever FCS Playoff game between the two schools.
• It’s also the first meeting with either team ranked, let alone both being inside the top-5 nationally.

#4 South Dakota Coyotes Notes

GAME STORYLINES

• South Dakota enters the FCS Playoffs with a share of the 2024 Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) title for the first time in program history.
• South Dakota makes their first-ever appearance in the FCS semifinals this season.
• The Coyotes enter the Playoffs as the No. 4-seed, earning a top-4 seed for the second-straight season in their fourth appearance in program history.
• Montana State is the third Big Sky opponent for South Dakota this season and second-straight in the FCS Playoffs. USD is 1-0 in those games (game vs. Portland State canceled).
• The Coyotes are 2-0 against Big Sky opponents in the FCS Playoffs.
• South Dakota has now played five teams that clinched berths to the FCS Playoffs this season, sitting 4-1 in those contests (including playoff opponents).
• The Yotes ended the regular season at No. 3 (AFCA) and No. 4 (STATS Perform) in the polls.
• Seven Coyotes earned First Team All-MVFC honors this season.
• USD has had 82 chunk plays of 20 or more yards this season with 29 leading to touchdowns.
• Aidan Bouman needs 277 passing yards to become the first Coyote since 2018 to throw for 3,000+ yards in a season [Austin Simmons, 3,124].
• Both Charles Pierre Jr. and Travis Theis have rushed for over 1,000 yards this season.
• The Coyote rushing attack sits sixth in the FCS (222.2 yards per game).
• The Coyote defense sits fourth the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to just 16.6 points per game. 
• Furthermore, the rushing defense is the second-best in the Valley and tenth nationally, allowing just 107.9 rushing yards per contest.
• The Coyotes had six interceptions in the 11 regular season games this year, the last three halves against Tarleton State (2H) and UC Davis the defense has snagged eight interceptions.
• The game on Saturday marks the third nationally televised contest this season for the Coyotes [at Wisconsin, FS1 & South Dakota State, ESPNU].

 
COYOTES IN THE FCS PLAYOFFS

• All four appearances have been under HC Bob Nielson.
• Before this weekend, the Coyotes had played five-straight games at home inside the DakotaDome.
• USD sits 4-3 all-time in FCS Playoff games, now with three wins at home (Sacramento State, 2023; Tarleton State, 2024; UC Davis, 2024).
• Travis Theis (130 vs. Tarleton State, 2024) and Charles Pierre Jr. (123 vs. Sacramento State, 2023) are the only Coyotes to rush for 100+ yards in a Playoff game.
• Chris Streveler holds the all-time single-game passing yards record with 520 (at Sam Houston State, 2017).
• Against the Aggies (Dec. 14), Gary Bryant III set a new USD FCS Playoff single-game record with his 15 tackles, also setting a new career-best for the sophomore.  
• Mi’Quise Grace holds the record for most TFLs (2.0) and sacks (1.5) in a single playoff game (vs. Sacramento State, 2023).
• Dennis Shorter holds the single-game record for pass break-ups with three (vs. Sacramento State, 2023).

 
HEAD COACH BOB NIELSON

• HC Bob Nielson was named the 2024 Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) Coach of the Year.
• He’s now won two MVFC Coach of the Year honors at USD (2023, 2024) and three total in his career (WIU, 2015).
• Nielson is also the first MVFC coach to win Coach of the Year at two different league schools.
• This season, Nielson picked up his 50^th career win at South Dakota with the 42-36 win at North Dakota (Nov. 16).
• The UC Davis game saw Nielson coach his 100^th game at South Dakota, winning 53% of his games.
• With the win over Tarleton State last week, Nielson became the fourth winningest coach in program history (52 wins), passing Joe Salem (1966-74).
• Two more wins will move him into third all-time in program history (Ed Meierkort, 54 wins, 2004-11).

 
SOUTH DAKOTA WHEN RANKED VS. RANKED OPPONENTS

• In the program’s FCS era, the Yotes are 15-12 against ranked foes and 4-7 on the road.
• The last two seasons (2023 & 2024), USD are an impressive 17-4 (.801) against ranked opponents when they are also ranked themselves.
• Twice in the DI FCS era, South Dakota has clashed with the top-ranked FCS team when ranked themselves: sitting 1-1 in those games [vs. SDSU, L, 37-3, 2023 & vs. NDSU, W, 29-28, 2024].

 
YOTES TO NOTE

• Aidan Bouman has thrown for at least 200 passing yards and one touchdown in nine games this season.
• He tied his career-high for the second time this season with his three passing touchdowns in the win over UC Davis last week.
• Quaron Adams has been a spark in the wide receivers group, averaging an MVFC-best 31.1 yards per catch.
• The rushing attack of Charles Pierre Jr. (91.3) and Travis Theis (88.5) sit No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the Valley in rushing yards per game.
• Pierre Jr. sits second nationally in yards per carry (7.3) and ninth in rushing touchdowns (15).
• Gary Bryant III leads the defense with his 101.0 tackles per game.
• Four Coyotes now have two interceptions this season (Bryant III, Hardman, Reid, Shorter).
• Dennis Shorter has a team-best 10 pass break-ups.
• Mi’Quise Grace leads the MVFC in sacks, sitting at 9.5 on the season. Nick Gaes sits right behind him at No. 2 in the Valley at 8.0 sacks.

 
DOMINANT RUSHING GAME

• The run game continues to be a huge part of the Coyote offense, 222.2 rushing yards a game.
• It sits second in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and sixth nationally.
• The backfield of Theis & Pierre Jr. have combined for 10 100-yard rushing games (both did so against SIU and UND).
• Charles Pierre Jr. is the lone Coyote to have any 150-yard rushing games this season. He’s now done it three times, including in back-to-back weeks: 153 (at Youngstown State), 165 (vs. Indiana State), and 173 (at North Dakota).
• He heads west with a team-best 1,187 rushing yards on 163 yards per carry, averaging 7.3 yards per carry on the year.
• Pierre Jr. was one of two Valley rushers to have 1,000+ rushing yards on the season through the regular season, doing it in one less game than UNI’s Tye Edwards.
• Travis Theis became the second Coyote to rush for 1,000 yards this season in the win against UC Davis, sitting 1,062 yards on a team-best 173 carries.
• Pierre Jr. ended the regular season second in the Valley with his 15 rushing scores, though he led all running backs.
• Heading into the Semifinals, Theis now holds the team lead with his 19 rushing touchdowns.

 
GETTING PRESSURE ON THE QUARTERBACK

• South Dakota sits fifth in the MVFC in total sacks with 29 on the season.
• Mi’Quise Grace leads the Valley with his 9.5 sacks this season, earning him Defensive Player of the Year in the conference.
• Nick Gaes sits right behind Grace, second in the MVFC, with his 9.0 sacks on the season.

 
INDIVIDUAL ACCOLADES & MILESTONES

• Charles Pierre Jr. cracked the program’s top-10 single season rushing touchdown list with his two scores at Youngstown State, sitting at No. 5 (tie) with his 15 rushing scores.
• As mentioned, he’s the first USD Division I FCS era rusher with 1,000 yards in a season which cracks the top-10 single-season list (No. 9, 1,082).
• Keyondray Jones-Logan is one of two FCS athletes to return two kickoffs back for touchdowns this season.
• Aidan Bouman became the sixth Coyote to record 6,000 passing yards in the win against UC Davis (Dec. 14).  
• Against Southern Illinois (Sept. 28), he became the ninth Coyote to eclipse 4,000 career passing yards.
• In the win over NDSU, he cracked the single-season top-10 for passing yards for the second-straight year (No. 5, 2,723 yards).
• He’s now surpassed his passing yard total from last season (2,551).
• Travis Theis broke the all-time USD career rushing touchdown record with his first touchdown against UC Davis (38^th) and heads to Bozeman with 39 in his career.  
• Theis eclipsed the 3,000-career rushing yard mark in the Dakota Days win over UNI.
• Carter Bell set the new program record in career receptions with his five in the SDSU game (167 & counting) and the receiving yards record in the Indiana State game.
• He needs just two touchdown receptions to break the program’s all-time career record in his third different category.

 
MISC. NOTES

• DEFENDING THE DOME: Since the 2021 season, South Dakota is 21-6 inside the DakotaDome.
• USD has now won seven-straight regular season games inside the DakotaDome, dating back to last season.
• The home win-streak is now up to eight-straight games this season, ending the 2024 season 8-0 in the Dome.
• With the win over then No. 1-ranked NDSU to end the regular season, USD is now 2-6 since going Division I (2008 and on) against No. 1-ranked FCS teams.
• The Coyotes are 15-12 in ranked vs. ranked games and 4-7 in those games on the road.
• The Coyotes become the first Valley team to post two or more MVFC shutouts in the same season since NDSU did so in 2013.
• South Dakota has put up 500+ yards of offense in six of the last nine games, with 509 against Tarleton State two weeks ago.
• USD is 7-0 when leading at the half and 6-1 when they score first.
• The Yotes had six MVFC Players of the Week during the 2024 season.
• The Yotes are 1-0 outside of the Central Time Zone this season, though having two games scheduled outside the home time zone.

#1 Montana State Bobcats Notes

BOBCAT TEAM NOTES
*The Bobcats’ 14 wins and six road victories both rank as program bests.
* MSU’s current 14-game win streak is the longest in program history, topping a 13-game streak in 1976-77.
* Montana State gained over 400 total yards in 22 of its last 26 games, allowing the opponent just four 400-yard efforts in that span.
* The Cats have advanced to the FCS Semifinals in four of the past five seasons.
 
ON THE MSU OFFENSE
* Tommy Mellott accounted for his first 300-yard passing game as a Bobcat against UT Martin, then rushed for 131 against Idaho in last week’s quarterfinals.
* Scottre Humphrey (2nd, 7.49) and Adam Jones (4th, 6.89) rank among FCS yards per rush leaders.
* Adam Jones’ 1,068 rushing yards and 14 TDs are MSU freshman records, and he is 13 yards behind FCS freshmen leader CharMarr Brown of NDSU in one fewer game.
* MSU is the only FCS team to score 30 points in each 2024 game.
* The Cats average 41.3 points and 496.5 yards per game to lead the FCS.
* MSU had scored in 12 straight quarters and in 51 of this season’s 56 quarters.
 
ON THE MSU DEFENSE
* MSU has 16 sacks in the last 4 games, including 6 at UC Davis and 5 vs. UTM.
* Montana State allows 14.4 points per game at home. Of the 115 points MSU has surrendered in Bobcat Stadium only 30 came before halftime.
* The Cats allow 301.4 total yards per game, 10th nationally.
* Montana State’s defense has allowed three first-quarter TDs this season.
* Neil Daily has 27 total tackles, 5.5 for a loss, and a forced fumble in his 6 starts.
 
ON THE MSU SPECIAL TEAMS
* Taco Dowler is now MSU’s career punt return yards leader (1,036).
* Brendan Hall has pinned the foe inside the 20 on an FCS-best 63% of his punts.
 
STADIUM STORY
* MSU is 34-1 at home since Sac State’s 34-21 win in 2019, the last win by a Big Sky foe in Bobcat Stadium, and 30-1 under Brent Vigen.
* MSU and the Coyotes have met twice, both times in Bobcat Stadium.

NEWS & NOTES

MONTANA STATE FACES SOUTH DAKOTA

No. 1 Montana State hosts No. 4 South Dakota on Saturday afternoon in Bozeman, as the Bobcats look to book their second trip to the FCS National Championship Game in the last four seasons. Prior to the 2021 season, the first and only trip to the FCS title game for Montana State came in 1984.

Montana State advanced to its fourth semifinal appearance since 2019 following its 52-19 win over Idaho last Friday night. The Bobcats are 2-2 in semifinal games since 1984, playing a team from the Dakotas in its last four trips to the playoff round.