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Matt Zimmer: On the Jacks/Bobcats thriller, a potential rematch and what to make of the overturned touchdown

matt zimmer, the daily republic, mitchell, s.d.
·6 min read

Sep. 11—SIOUX FALLS — The much-hyped battle between No. 1 South Dakota State and No. 3 Montana State, a rematch of last year's (and the year before) FCS semifinal, mostly lived up to the hype.

The Jackrabbits escaped with a 20-16 win, coming back from down 10-0 and surviving a last-second drive by the Bobcats only when their game-winning touchdown pass was overturned by the officials (more on that in a bit).

I say "mostly" lived up to the hype because while it was an intense game with a down-to-the-wire finish in front of maybe the best crowd we've ever seen at a sporting event in South Dakota, neither team appeared to be at their best. The Jacks needed some assistance from the officials and their fans (who played a role in MSU's nine false start penalties) to get by on a day where their offense took an entire half to get going, their defensive line didn't resemble last year's championship unit for long stretches and the special teams units almost lost them the game.

MSU was no better, of course, as the pre-snap offensive penalties reached a level of absurdity that made any complaints about the official review at the end hard to take seriously. If the Bobcats had simply not turned a half-dozen 3rd and 1s into 3rd and 6s they probably would've won the game.

This is not meant as a criticism of either team. It was just the second game of the season, and both of these teams played little more than a scrimmage in their openers. No matter what coaches say about treating all opponents equally, it's just not easy to go from trying to not run up the score against an overmatched opponent to suddenly going into playoff mode. The Jacks got the win and that's all that matters for them. For the Bobcats it's a crushing loss, because it might mean they won't have a shot at the No. 1 or even No. 2 seed in the playoffs. Last year they went undefeated in FCS games and had to come to Brookings for the semis. This year they already have an FCS loss. They now have to face down the rest of their season hoping to run the table in a tough Big Sky Conference.

The Jacks and Bobcats have now faced off three times among their last 18 contests, and both sides seem to think a fourth is coming this winter.

"We'll see them again," said Bobcats linebacker Danny Uluilakepa.

Said Jacks quarterback Mark Gronowski: "We're gonna end up facing them again at some point in the playoffs, I'm expecting. We've got to be ready."

Certainly possible.

For it to happen, SDSU needs to clean up the silly penalties and special teams meltdowns, and their D-line must be better than it was Saturday if they're going to continue their winning streak against an NDSU team that is by no means an afterthought just because they got swept by the Jacks last year.

The Bobcats, meanwhile, lost starting quarterback Tommy Mellott to an injury against the Jacks, after losing Sean Chambers, who plays regularly as a backup/co-QB1, in last year's semifinal meeting. On the one hand those are tough breaks for the Bobcats. On the other, that's what happens when you rely so heavily on the QB-run game.

And by the way, the Bobcats schedule from here on out is a monster. They still have to face No. 7 Weber State, No. 6 Sacramento State, No. 10 Idaho and No. 11 Montana — all on the road. If they do win all those maybe they'll deserve the top seed after all.

As for SDSU, they now have another sub-par opponent in Drake. The Bulldogs play in the FCS's non-scholarship conference (the Pioneer League) and are coming off a loss to Northwestern. No, not the one in the Big Ten, the NAIA team in Orange City, Iowa. The game is at Target Field, a potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the fans as much as the players, so hopefully it'll be fun even if the Jacks are likely to coast to another stress-free win.

Their bye week follows, then it's right into Missouri Valley Football Conference play, starting at home against No. 13 North Dakota. The Jacks could have linebacker Adam Bock healthy by then and will perhaps have kicked off a little more of the rust. Because while the win over Montana State emboldened their national championship aspirations, it also just ramps up the magnitude of every single game going forward.

For a brief moment, it felt like the Hail Mary all over again.

The Jacks were holding a 4-point lead with nine seconds remaining, and the Bobcats had just been pushed back to the 24-yard line by, of course, a false start.

Chambers scrambled around long enough looking for a receiver that it looked like it would be the game's final play, and somehow he found Clevan Thomas coming across the middle of the field, hitting him in the back of the end zone for a game-winning touchdown. A crowd of 19,332, kicked in the gut. It went to an official's review.

It was hard to see much in real time, but the replay showed there was some question about whether or not Thomas got a foot in (it's college, he only needs one).

Maybe the officials got a different view than the rest of us, but the replay we saw was a little far away and blurry. It looked like Thomas' feet were outside the end zone when he came down with the ball.

But was there enough to overturn?

In the press box, sides were taken. Most said no catch. A few Montana media thought it was a catch, or at least, that there wasn't enough evidence to overturn (seriously, how partisan can this country get?).

A closer look at the replay also appeared to show Chambers across the line of scrimmage when he threw the ball. Were the refs reviewing that, too? We weren't sure. The ball was snapped at the 24-yard-line, and when it leaves Chambers' hand the ball is at the 23, as is most of his body. Though Chambers' back foot is still at the 24, my interpretation of the rule (which I admit could be wrong) is that if the ball is across the LOS a forward pass is illegal.

So long story short, I don't think it should've been a touchdown. I think they got it right. But I'll say this as my ultimate hot take: If the exact same scenario had played out in Bozeman, it would've stood as a touchdown. In Brookings, it was incomplete. And I'm OK with that.