South Dakota State vs North Dakota State 1/8/23 College Football Picks, Predictions, Odds

The North Dakota State Bison and South Dakota State Jackrabbits meet Sunday in the college football FCS Championship at Toyota Stadium. The North Dakota State Bison look for their 18th national title. The South Dakota State Jackrabbits look for their first national title.

The North Dakota State Bison have won 7 straight games. Cam Miller is completing 69.5 percent of his passes for 1,710 yards, 11 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Zach Mathis and Joe Stoffel have combined for 629 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns, while Braylon Henderson has 14 receptions. The North Dakota State Bison ground game is averaging 269.1 yards per contest, and Kobe Johnson leads the way with 766 yards and 5 touchdowns. Defensively, North Dakota State is allowing 17.4 points and 299.6 yards per game. James Kaczor leads the North Dakota State Bison with 80 tackles, Spencer Waege has 9 sacks and Dawson Weber has 3 interceptions.

The South Dakota State Jackrabbits have won 13 straight games. 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.

North Dakota State in the underdog role in a playoff game usually isn’t something you see, so I can understand why many may be siding with the underdog here. However, as I said in the semifinal write up, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits have been the best team in the FCS from start to finish, and they’ve blasted the competition up to this point. South Dakota State’s lone loss this season came in its season opener against Iowa, and most would agree it outplayed the Hawkeyes in that game as well. South Dakota State wins its first national title. I’ll lay the points.