While thinking back on it this past spring, Bobby Hauck said his Montana Grizzlies had last year’s national championship game against South Dakota State right where they needed it to be.
The Griz were legitimately vying to knock off the defending champion Jackrabbits on a bright Sunday in Frisco, Texas. But two things happened.
First, at the start of the second quarter SDSU linebacker Adam Bock stuffed Montana running back Eli Gillman on fourth-and-goal from inside the 1 to keep the Griz off the scoreboard.
Then, on the opening possession of the second half, Montana coughed up a fumble to end what looked like a promising drive.
Montana’s offense never could get untracked. UM trailed 7-3 at halftime but SDSU went on to claim a 23-3 victory and its second straight championship.
“We had the game where we needed it and certainly had a chance to win it, but turning the ball over is what kills you to begin with in a game like that," Hauck said.
Eleven months removed from that game, the Grizzlies get another crack at the Jackrabbits with a second-round matchup Saturday at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, S.D.
The 14th-seeded Griz are 9-4. No. 3-seeded SDSU is 10-2. It is Montana's first trip to Brookings since 1970.
A lot has changed for both Montana and South Dakota State in a season’s time, but one thing remains the same — the Griz are the underdogs, and will probably have to be near-perfect to pull off an upset.
Montana looks quite different from a year ago. Logan Fife and Keali’i Ah Yat are a two-man quarterback carousel, while Clifton McDowell was the unquestioned signal-caller in 2023.
The offensive line lost left tackle Chris Walker and center A.J. Forbes, and the defense waved goodbye to eight starters, including veteran linebackers Braxton Hill, Tyler Flink and Levi Janacaro, and nose Alex Gubner, the 2023 Big Sky Conference defensive player of the year.
Among those that remain, however, are perhaps the Grizzlies’ two best players — running back Eli Gillman and receiver/return specialist Junior Bergen, the latter of which further cemented his status as a Griz legend by returning two punts for touchdowns in a first-round win over Tennessee State last week.
As for Jimmy Rogers’ South Dakota State squad, it has only three offensive starters back from last year's juggernaut, but one of them is quarterback Mark Gronowski, the reigning Walter Payton Award winner.
Gronowski has done it all during his time at SDSU and has accounted for 120 career touchdowns in 52 career starts. He is 47-5 as the Jackrabbits' starter (and 11-1 in the playoffs).
The Jackrabbits did lose a ton from a defense that Rogers said last year was the best in FCS history, but Bock is back at linebacker.
Perhaps most notable about the 2023 Jackrabbits was that they had eight players that were either drafted or signed free agent NFL contracts, including offensive lineman Mason McCormick and running back Isaiah Davis.
Other players noticeably absent from this year's SDSU team are tight end Zach Heins, receivers and twin brothers Jaxon and Jadon Janke, and linebacker Isaiah Stalbird.
And so, it’s an intriguing playoff rematch between teams that are quite different from a season ago.
But one thing remains the same — the Griz are the underdogs, and will probably have to be at their absolute best to pull the upset.
