The fans were waiting for it. The players were waiting for it. And finally, with under four minutes to go after No. 1 seed South Dakota State extended its lead to 59-0 on No. 5 seed UAlbany, the song “If You’re Gonna Play in Texas” played over the speakers.
Players started to swing dance and play pretend fiddles on the sideline. The 12,265 fans were jumping around, shaking the press box.
It was a party as SDSU, the defending FCS national champs, punched its ticket to Frisco, Texas, once again.
And really, that song could have played in the second quarter. Again in the third. And, of course, again in the fourth.
It was over early. SDSU held a 14-0 lead after one quarter, extended it to 35-0 at halftime, and made it 42-0 a minute into the third.
The Jackrabbits put on a clinic against a solid UAlbany team.
Mark Gronowski threw three touchdowns on 15/19 throwing for 265 yards. Isaiah Davis, also known as Playoff Zay, ran for 107 yards and two TDs on 15 carries, now his seventh straight playoff game of 100+ rushing yards. Zach Heins caught two touchdown passes. SDSU also scored on special teams via a Tucker Large 79-yard punt return. And the Jacks scored a defensive touchdown on a Jason Freeman 34-yard fumble return. They picked off Reese Poffenbarger three times and held UAlbany to 66 yards rushing on 23 carries.
“They’re a great football team,” UAlbany head coach Greg Gattuso said. “Probably the best I’ve seen … That’s an eye-opener for us to see what it takes at the highest level.”
SDSU’s offensive line played like the best unit in the FCS. The big boys neutralized a legit front seven. They allowed zero sacks and only one tackle for loss later in the game. UAlbany came into the matchup No. 1 in FCS rushing defense and team sacks per game, No. 1 in PFF’s rush-defense grade, and No. 6 in PFF’s pass-rush grade.
“Our staff did a good job keeping our guys engaged and motivated all year,” SDSU head coach Jimmy Rogers said, who is now 14-0 in his first season leading the Jacks. “It’s not easy to do it like this.”
For UAlbany, a historic season comes to a tough close. The Great Danes finished 11-4 overall and 11-2 vs. the FCS while reaching its first FCS semifinal, an incredible turnaround from last year’s 3-8 campaign.
“We’ve got to grow in many ways,” Gattuso said. “You see their crowd here and their facilities and their players. There’s a lot to build off of from this year. What [our players] have done this year has been remarkable.”
SDSU will play the winner of Saturday’s North Dakota State at No. 2 seed Montana game.
It is SDSU’s third trip to the national title game in four years. The Jacks lost 23-21 to Sam Houston in the 2021 spring championship. They beat NDSU 45-21 in last season’s championship.
“We’ve felt that confetti fall on our head,” Rogers said. “And we’ve watched it fall on another team’s head. It means the world to this football team to get it done for these [seniors].”
