Oct. 21—BROOKINGS — On its face, South Dakota State's loss to North Dakota shouldn't be that big of a deal.
The Fighting Hawks are a good team, a longtime rival going back to the North Central Conference days (and UND was way better than SDSU in that era), and a team that had a lot at stake coming off an upset loss at Northern Iowa.
It was on the road in a tough place to play. UND doesn't lose at the Alerus Center very often. When the schedule came out, this was a game you looked at and thought, that will be a tough one.
But the Jackrabbits had just risen to No. 1 in the national rankings. With Montana State, Montana, Youngstown State and Illinois State all having losses to FCS opponents (the latter two to SDSU), the Jacks had full control of their destiny. Win their remaining games and they're the No. 1 seed, with homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.
The 21-10 loss to UND changes that outlook significantly. The FCS playoff committee released its first rankings on Tuesday, and the Jacks (5-2, 2-1) were fifth. That means, potentially, they need to win out just to maintain a top-8 seed, and need help from some others to have a shot at one of the top two.
We're in a new era in college football. The portal and NIL have leveled the playing field. There are no undefeated teams in the SEC after just seven games. Fans of FBS and power conference football are still trying to wrap their heads around the possibility of a two or three or four loss team winning a national championship (which is why they're all losing their minds over a 24-team playoff, not realizing that same format has been working just fine for every other level of college football).
But even though we're used to that in the FCS world, every loss to an FCS opponent still feels almost like a tragedy to the handful of teams that see themselves as serious contenders for a national championship.
That's understandable. South Dakota State has won two national championships, and both times, they went undefeated against the FCS to earn the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and the accompanying home field advantage. They've had several teams over the years that were probably good enough to win it all, but a loss or two along the way forced them on the road in the playoffs, and they were never able to win a road semifinal.
USD is still looking for its first trip to the national championship, as they, too, have not been able to win a semifinal on the road (they're yet to host one).
What this means, essentially, is that every game (at least every game against FCS teams) is a must-win.
And that feels like....a lot.
I asked Jacks coach Dan Jackson if that expectation — to go undefeated — is overwhelming.
"I wouldn't say it's overwhelming," he replied. "I think, honestly, I prefer it that way. We got to make sure that we do a good job as a staff and I do a really good job of the staff and the players educating them on that. Because you're not like everybody else in the country.
"We want to be somewhere where it matters, right?," Jackson added. "We want to play every game where every game has significance to it, whether it's seeding or playoffs or rankings or an opportunity for us to attain a really big goal. But we need to understand that, we have some veteran players, but we also have a ton of new guys that have to understand that we're getting everybody's best. This is everybody's Super Bowl when they play South Dakota State, and it wasn't always like that. And we're not afforded a team coming out and playing just average versus us or taking us lightly or hoping to win. We're gonna get everybody's best, that's their coaching staff and players included and we need to start fast. So we can eliminate those thoughts early in football games. The longer we let people linger around in games, then their confidence builds and they get closer to their goal of winning a milestone victory for their program. I enjoy it, but yeah, it's a different dynamic that other schools don't have. I'd rather have it this way."
That's a lot of pressure. North Dakota State dealt with it for a decade. Anything less than a national championship was a failure. It wasn't quite that stark for the Jacks, but now that the Bison are no longer in the picture it pretty much is.
And that can be tricky for coaches.
To get your players to accept that kind of pressure and thrive under it, you've got to convince them they're pretty good. But then you have a game like Saturday against UND, where they didn't play anywhere close to a championship level, and you've got to let them know they're not invincible. You've got to show them where they failed and what they did wrong without them questioning if they're as good as you've been telling them they are. And you've got to sell them on the idea that they can still reach their ultimate goal despite a significant bump in the road.
"Confidence is a fragile thing for everybody," Jackson said. "Not just a college football player or coach. We all have moments where we feel like we're on top of the world and we can do anything. And then we all had a moment where you feel like the world's crashing down on you. And so as the head coach, it's my job to do the best that I possibly can to help control the emotions of our team. And one thing I do know is they feel believed in and they're confident and they know, they haven't forgotten some of the performances that we've had already this year. Overconfidence bleeds into arrogance, which can lead to complacency. And if you're not confident enough, it can lead to doubt and questioning and tense play.
"So we just need to relax and play football," Jackson added. "Maybe being ranked number one, the first time that this team has done that since we've been here, and some of the veterans feeling like we've gotten to this point, now we can't let it slip, and some of the young guys never being in that position, maybe some of those things mounted up from a pressure standpoint. But that won't happen again."
As much as SDSU appeared uninspired in Grand Forks, Jackson reiterated that never felt like the case, in the week leading up to the game or even in pregame.
But, he said, when the Jacks failed to convert an early fourth down after a promising drive, and didn't take control of the game when they had the chance, a different kind of malaise may have set in.
"We haven't had an issue with (energy) and I would be very concerned if we did," Jackson said. "Last week, and I'm not gonna be one of those coaches that tells you every single week was just the best week of practice ever, but it was. We were dialed in offensively, defensively. The energy was there, the excitement was up. The guys were fresh, flying around. We had a bonus day of practice on a Monday that we don't usually get. And it didn't translate to us playing at our highest level on Saturday."
Jackson gave North Dakota credit for some of that, acknowledging they're a good team that played well in front of an outstanding crowd.
But he also didn't like the way his team handled their own slow start.
"We waited too much," the coach said. "It was like we were waiting to take the game over. I think we were connected and positive (that) we're gonna win this and keep fighting, but we need somebody that says, 'I'm gonna take the game over right now' instead of waiting for somebody to do it. And so that's what we're gonna need Saturday. We're gonna need a group of guys that prepare like this and do it in practice Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, especially on the field. And then when the game starts, says I'm gonna be the one that makes the play. I'm gonna be the one that makes the throw, makes the catch, makes the block, makes the tackle. And I'm not gonna wait for energy to be created. I'm gonna go create the energy."
The Jacks haven't played a home game in a month. Hobo Day is up next, and it's against a rebuilding, beat-up and overmatched Murray State team. Then comes the Halloween showdown with the Coyotes, also at home. That's followed by a pair of roadies against rejuvenated Northern Iowa and struggling Southern Illinois before the finale at home against Indiana State.
Win them all and the Jacks are going to be in the hunt for a high seed. Drop another one (or more) and you're looking at a difficult road to Nashville. The 2021 Jackrabbits remain maybe the best SDSU team to not win a national championship — they opened that season with a rout of FBS Colorado State, but lost three times in the Valley, forcing them to ultimately play four playoff games in four different time zones. They won the first three and were rolling, but appeared to run out of gas in a semifinal loss at Montana State.
That's the scenario they're looking to avoid in 2026.
No pressure, guys.