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It' all comes down to three teams from the Dakotas, plus Montana State, for the final four of the 2024 FCS playoffs after the top four seeds won handily in the quarterfinal round.
It started on Thursday night with Montana State romping to a 52-19 win in Bozeman over Idaho as Adam Jones ran for 4 scores and WB Tommy Mellott had 305 yards of total offense (174 passing, 131 rushing).
On Saturday, two-time defending FCS national champion South Dakota State wiped the floor with UIW, pounding the Cardinals 55-14 in Brookings. Jacks QB Mark Gronowski picked up a record-tying 49th win as quarterback, tying former North Dakota State quarterback Easton Stick.
The Jackrabbits and Bison will meet next week in one semifinal game in the Fargodome because NDSU methodically disposed of Mercer in a 31-7 home win on Saturday.
The Coyotes of South Dakota will be Montana State's opponent after taking down UC Davis 35-31 in Vermillion.
Jackson State (12-2, 8-0) defeated South Carolina State (-9-3, 5-0) 28-7 to claim its first win in the Celebration Bowl after losses in 2021 and 2022.
The game drew a crowd of 36,823 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
An article on the bowl game website says "JSU ties a Celebration Bowl record for largest margin of victory (21) and avenges their 2021 Celebration Bowl loss to the Bulldogs (31-10). In addition, their defense held the Bulldog offense to the fewest points bowl history, eclipsing the nine points Grambling State held North Carolina Central to in 2016."
The Tigers captured the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship last Saturday by pulling away in the second half for a 41-13 romp. SC State (9-2, 5-0) clinched the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference on November 16 with a 54-7 romp on the road at Morgan State in Baltimore.
SC State entered the game on an 8-game winning streak while JSU pocketed a 10th straight win.
Friday - (8) Idaho at (1) Montana State. Montana State won 52-19
Saturday - (6) UIW at (3) SDSU. South Dakota State won 55-14
(5) UC Davis at (4) South Dakota. South Dakota won 35-21.
(7) Mercer at (2) NDSU. North Dakota State won 31-7.
SEE: Odds, Computer picks, Scores
Home team on bottom
| 12/7 | 12/14 | 12/21 | C'ship (Frisco) (1/6, 7 PM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| UT-Martin 17 1 Montana St. 49 |
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| 8 Idaho 19 1 Montana St. 52 |
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| Lehigh 13 8 Idaho 34 |
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| 4 So. Dakota 1 Montana St. |
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| 12 Illinois St. 10 5 UC Davis 42 |
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| 5 UC Davis 21 4 So. Dakota 35 |
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| 13 Tarleton 31 4 So. Dakota 42 |
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| ? ? |
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| 14 Montana 18 3 SDSU 35 |
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| 6 UIW 14 3 SDSU 55 |
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| 11 Villanova 6 6 UIW 13 |
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| 3 SDSU 2 NDSU |
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| 10 URI 10 7 Mercer 17 |
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| 7 Mercer 7 2 NDSU 31 |
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| 15 ACU 31 2 NDSU 51 |
All games December 7
Home Team in CAPS
Winner in BOLD
(14) Montana (9-5) 18, (3) SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (11-2) 35
(11) Villanova (10-4) 6, (6) UIW (11-2) 13
(10) Rhode Island (11-3) 10, (7) MERCER (11-2) 17
UT Martin (9-5) 17, (1) MONTANA STATE (13-0) 49
(13) Tarleton (10-4) 31, (4) SOUTH DAKOTA (10-2) 42
(15) Abilene Christian (9-5) 31, (2) NORTH DAKOTA STATE (11-2) 51
(12) Illinois State (10-3), (5) UC DAVIS (11-2) 42
Lehigh (9-4) 13, (8) IDAHO (10-3) 34
All games November 30
Home Team in CAPS
Winner in BOLD
UT Martin (9-4) 41, (16) NEW HAMPSHIRE (8-5) 10
Lehigh (9-3) 20, (9) RICHMOND (10-3) 16
(12) Illinois State (10-3) 35, SEMO (9-4), 27
Drake (8-3) 29, (13) TARLETON (10-3) 43
Tennessee State (9-4) 27, (14) MONTANA (9-4) 41
Eastern Kentucky (8-5) 17, (11) VILLANOVA (10-3) 22
CCSU (7-6) 17, (10) RHODE ISLAND (11-2) 21
Northern Arizona (8-5) 0, (15) ABILENE CHRISTIAN (9-4) 24
MONTANA STATE - Won 14 straight overall. Won 6 straight road games. Won 8 straight conference games (tied with UIW, Richmond, and Jackson State).
Last: No.1 seed won 52-19 at home over Idaho on Friday, December 13
Next: Hosts #4 seed South Dakota in an FCS Semifinal game on Saturday, December 21.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE - 28-game home winning streak.
Last: No. 3 seed won 55-14 at home over 6-seed Incarnate Word on Saturday, December 14.
Next: Visits No. 2 seed Norta Dakota State on Saturday, December 21.
NW STATE - Lost 20 straight over-all. Lost 10 straight home games (tied with Northern Colorado)
Last: Lost 62-24 at Houston Christian on Saturday, November 23.
Next: Season complete.
NORTHERN COLORADO - Lost 10 straight at home (tied with NW State, LA).
Last: Lost 45-13 at Portland State on Saturday, November 23.
Next: Season complete.
NORTH CAROLINA A&T - Lost 16 straight conference games.
Last: Lost 31-21 at home to Elon on Saturday, November 23.
Next: Season complete.
MURRAY STATE - Lost 18 straight road games. Lost 15 straight conference games (second to NC A&T).
Last: Lost 62-0 at Southern Illinois on Saturday, November 23.
Next: Season complete.
FBS schools were 115-6 in FBS-FCS games this season, and are a cumulative 1,915-158 (.924) since we began tracking this in 2003.
In 2024, there were 121 matchups scheduled between FBS and FCS schools with 119 playing one such game, while Hawaii and UMass each play two.
15 schools were not scheduled to play a FCS opponent. Of those fifteen schools, 5 are in the B1G (Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, USC and UCLA). Texas is the only school in the SEC that will not play a FCS program. The same is true for Virginia Tech in the ACC. In fact, Texas and Virginia Tech, along with Michigan and Houston, were repeats from the list of schools in 2023 that played all FBS programs.
2024 FCS wins vs. FBS:
August 24: Montana State 35, New Mexico 31
September 7: St. Francis (PA) 23, Kent State 17
September 7: Idaho 17, Wyoming 13
September 7: Southern Utah 27, UTEP 24 (OT)
September 21: Monmouth 45, FIU 42
September 28: UT-Martin 24, Kennesaw 13
In 2023, FBS schools were 114-4. These were the FCS wins last year:
September 9: Idaho 33, Nevada 6
September 9: Southern Illinois 14, Northern Illinois 12
September 9: Fordham 40, Buffalo 37
September 16: Sacramento State 30, Stanford 23