Savage Words: SDSU hysteria is everywhere, and DII Augustana has them on their schedule

So South Dakota State wins another FCS National Championship. 

No surprise there. The Jackrabbits have been rolling this year, outscoring their opponents 560-139 en route to a perfect 15-0 record.

Over that span, SDSU had three shutouts and limited Montana in the national championship game to just a field goal.

Dominating, no doubt.

It sorta makes you wonder what Sept. 14 is going to look like when Division II Augustana makes the trek to Brookings to face the back-to-back champs next season. 

When the Vikings released their 2024 football schedule last month, it was a jaw-dropper when SDSU was on the slate for the second game of the year.

Instead of the Vikings doing the pillaging, this one has a sure Jackrabbit beat-down written all over it. But not so long ago, an Augustana versus SDSU game was just a normal North Central Conference (NCC) regular season game. Brandon Valley head football coach Matt Christensen played for Augustana from 1997-2001. During his junior season, the Vikings had SDSU down 24-0 at halftime before giving up a last-second two-point conversion to lose 25-24. Christensen had nine tackles and a fumble recovery in that game.

Augustana and SDSU have played each other 62 times, most recently in 2004 as members of the NCC. Augustana last beat the Jacks in 2002 at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls.

It may have been only 20 years since they last met, but those seem lightyears in the past. Since SDSU left the NCC and the Division II ranks for the FCS, the program has grown into a monster. The Jacks’ 19,000-seat stadium has the largest video scoreboard in the FCS, and the student-athlete center connected to the stadium is one of the largest practice facilities in all of Division I.

With SDSU and North Dakota State growing at such a rapid pace and with both teams seeing success on the gridiron, the two were featured on ESPN’s nationally televised College GameDay show in 2019.

All that being said, no doubt the Vikings will be wide-eyed when they visit Brookings next season. South Dakota State has nearly 13,000 enrolled and football facilities that rival any other university in the country. Augustana has 2,100 students, and although their facilities are high-class for a Division II program, they don’t compare to the shiny, new toys the Jacks have in Brookings.

It’s David vs. Goliath, and I hope Augie can hang with them. I’d love to see them win, although that’s a long shot at best. It feels a little like when my alma mater, the University of Sioux Falls, went to North Dakota and defeated the Fighting Hawks in 2009 when USF was transitioning from the NAIA to the Division II NCAA ranks. USF had no business winning that game, but soundly won 28-13. 

There’s a pair of Brandon Valley grads on the Jacks, and of course I want them to do well. Cade Terveer registered two tackles and 1.5 sacks in Saturday’s national championship game. That’s damn cool. Next year, Noah Thompson will likely see some playing time after redshirting this year. I’ll obviously be pulling for him, too.

But congratulations, SDSU. Winning an FCS championship is an incredible feat. And the way you’ve done it this year, bulldozing through your schedule, has been inspiring to watch.

But I really hope you have your hands full with 22 Vikings this September.