A fierce rivalry renews on Sunday in the FCS Championship Game as the top-seeded South Dakota State Jackrabbits take on the No. 3-seeded North Dakota State Bison. The programs are natural rivals in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the Jackrabbits (13-1) staged a comeback for a 23-21 victory over the Bison (12-2) in conference play on their way to the MVFC title behind an 8-0 mark. The clubs have never met in the FCS final, but the Bison have won all four prior postseason meetings between the programs.
Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. ET from Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The Jackrabbits are 5.5-point favorites and the over/under for total points scored is 47.5 in the latest North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State odds from Caesars Sportsbook. Before locking in any South Dakota State vs. North Dakota State picks FCS title championship game predictions, you'll want to see what SportsLine's Emory Hunt has to say.
Hunt is the founder and CEO of Football Gameplan, which has been supplying analysis of all levels of football since 2007. He is also a former running back at Louisiana-Lafayette, which gives him a nuanced perspective of the X's and O's of the game from a player's perspective.
Hunt has emerged as a prolific college football handicapper for SportsLine and is 204-166-2 in college football over the past two-plus seasons, returning nearly $1,500 to $100 players. He was 25-16 on FCS against-the-spread selections in the regular season. Anybody who has followed him already has seen massive returns.
Now, Hunt has zeroed in on the FCS title game featuring North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State. You can head to SportsLine to see his picks. Here are several college football betting lines for South Dakota State vs. North Dakota State:
- North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State spread: South Dakota State -5.5
- North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State over/under: 47.5 points
- North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State money line: South Dakota State -210, North Dakota State +175
- NDSU: The Bison have won all four postseason meetings against South Dakota State
- SDSU: The Jackrabbits have won their last four games by at least 21 points each
- North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why South Dakota State can cover
One advantage many observers believe the Jackrabbits will have in Sunday's game is that they benefit from a more balanced offense. A good portion of the credit for that goes to quarterback Mark Gronowski, who has thrown for 2,744 yards and 23 touchdowns against five interceptions.
Two seasons ago, he started in the FCS title game, the first appearance for South Dakota State in program history. Gronowski was named the conference Offensive Player of the Year but was injured on the first drive of the championship game against Sam Houston State and helplessly watched the rest of it from the sideline. Sam Houston went on to a 23-21 victory.
The signal-caller missed the entire 2021 season because of a knee injury but Gronowski, now a redshirt sophomore, told the media this week that he's eager to take advantage of a second chance to bring the Jackrabbits their first FCS title. "It's really special," he said. "We're all ready to capitalize on it and it's a great chance for us to get back what we didn't finish before."
Why North Dakota State can cover
The Bison arguably have the edge in big-game experience, as about half their roster has already appeared in at least two FCS title games. Moreover, recent history suggests that North Dakota State is primed for a standout performance.
North Dakota State is 7-0 in FCS playoff rematches against regular-season opponents. Two of those victories came after regular-season losses to Montana in 2015 and South Dakota State in 2016. This is a similar scenario because the Bison lost to South Dakota State 23-21 in the regular season and now has a chance for revenge in the FCS Championship Game.
This matchup also represents just the second time the FCS title game features teams from the same conference. In 2014, MVFC co-champions North Dakota State and Illinois State met in the FCS Championship Game. The clubs didn't meet in the regular season, but the Bison prevailed 29-27 to take home another title.
How to make North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State picks
Hunt is leaning Over on the total, but he also has isolated a critical X-factor that has him going big on one side of the spread. He's sharing it only at SportsLine.
Who wins the FCS championship game featuring South Dakota State vs. North Dakota State? And which critical X-factor makes one side of the spread hit hard? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to back, all from the acclaimed FCS expert on a 25-16 roll.
