South Dakota State vs Montana State 12/17/22 College Football Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Montana State Bobcats and South Dakota State Jackrabbits meet Saturday in the college football FCS Championship Semifinals at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium. The Montana State Bobcats have won 10 straight games. The South Dakota State Jackrabbits have won 12 straight games.

The Montana State Bobcats have won all 4 road games this season. Tommy Mellott is completing 60.9 percent of his passes for 1,507 yards, 10 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Willie Patterson and Ravi Alston have combined for 925 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, while Treyton Pickering has 19 receptions. The Montana State Bobcats ground game is averaging 169.6 yards per contest, and Mellott leads the way with 1,058 yards and 12 touchdowns. Defensively, Montana State is allowing 15.2 points and 262.1 yards per game. Callahan O’Reilly leads the Montana State Bobcats with 78 tackles, Sebastian Valdez has 5.5 sacks and James Campbell has 2 interceptions.

The South Dakota State Jackrabbits haven’t lost a home game all season. Mark Gronowski is completing 64.6 percent of his passes for 2,555 yards, 21 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Jaxon Janke and Jadon Janke have combined for 1,418 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns, while Zach Heins has 29 receptions. The South Dakota State Jackrabbits ground game is averaging 332.4 yards per contest, and Isaiah Davis leads the way with 1,190 yards and 13 touchdowns. Defensively, South Dakota State is allowing 25.6 points and 351.2 yards per game. Adam Bock leads the South Dakota State Jackrabbits with 61 tackles, Reece Winkelman has 3.5 sacks and Dalys Beanum has 2 interceptions.

The Montana State Bobcats have done enough this season to make them worth a look here in the underdog role. It’s hard to argue with a team that’s won 10 straight games and has been explosive on the offensive side with a great running game. However, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits have been arguably the best team in the FCS from the start, and that goes to giving Iowa a scare opening week in a game they probably should’ve won. South Dakota State is elite on both sides of the ball, especially defensively, where it’s allowed single digit points in 4 of its last 8 games. I’m not stepping in front of the Jackrabbits. I’ll lay the chalk.