South Dakota State wrapped up conference play last weekend with their 41-0 shutout over Southeastern Louisiana. The Jacks look onto a rest week before kicking off Missouri Valley Football Conference play on Oct. 5 at Northern Iowa.
Here is a look at the top teams around the FCS according to the Stats Preform Top 25 Poll:
No. 1 South Dakota State
Next Matchup: Northern Iowa
The reigning FCS National Champions sit at the top with their 3-1 record on the season. SDSU’s sole loss of this season came by FBS Oklahoma State where the Jacks lost 44-20.
While averaging 32.5 points per game, South Dakota State has allowed 17.75 per game.
Tailback Amar Johnson has stepped up big this season, rushing for 376 yards. The Arkansas native not only leads the 8th best team in the country for rushing offenses but also has yet to be stopped behind the line of scrimmage.
In addition to Amar Johnson, Angel Johnson and Kirby Vorhees have been solid backups this season. Angel, a junior from South Dakota is averaging 5.8 yards per carry this year while Vorhees racked up over 175 yards in SDSU’s game against SLU.
No. 2 North Dakota State
Next Matchup: No. 15 Illinois State
Tim Polasek is off to a good start this season in his first year as head coach after the departure of Matt Entz.
Polasek’s Bison started the season out 3-1 and similar to the Jacks, their only loss came by FBS Colorado.
The dual-threat quarterback Cam Miller continues to keep this team dangerous. This season, the senior has amounted to six scores, 927 passing yards and a completion percentage of 76.1%.
“Cam [Miller] continues to play at a very high rate,” said Polasek. “I do think that’s something that’s credited to him and his preparation but man, the guys around him are really playing well.”
To add to his already impressive stat line, Miller has rushed for 158 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
No. 3 Montana State
Next Matchup: Idaho State
The Bobcats are one of two teams in the top 25 who still boast an undefeated 4-0 record (No. 12 Mercer, 4-0).
Similar to Miller, Montana State’s dual-threat quarterback Tommy Mellott has been hot this season, throwing for 715 yards and seven touchdowns on 70.93% while rushing for 187 yards and three scores.
Mellott and the Bobcats have the highest-ranked offense in the country. Montana State has averaged 522 yards per game (most in the country) and a total of 20 offensive touchdowns (4th most).
“There hasn’t been a lot that’s been given up [against Montana State’s defense],” said Bobcat head coach Brent Vigen. “We haven’t taken the ball away which I hope will come but you know, I think we’ve played really sound on the defensive side.”
MSU’s defense is ranked 13th, allowing just seven offensive touchdowns this season.
No. 4 Idaho
Next Matchup: No. 14 UC Davis
The Vandals started the season with back-to-back FBS opponents in Oregon and Wyoming. Idaho took a close loss to Oregon 24-14 in week one and beat the Cowboys in week two. In week three of the season, Idaho went and beat UAlbany 41-13, the team that knocked them out of the playoffs in 2023.
The duo of Nate Thomas (218 yards) and Elisha Cummings (217 yards) in the backfield has been dangerous this season with the pair pulling in 435 together. Thomas also leads the team in rushing touchdowns with three on the year.
Redshirt freshman Mark Hamper has had a successful last four games, resulting in 246 yards (1st on the team), 11 catches (2nd on the team) and one score (3rd on the team).
No. 5 South Dakota
Next Matchup: No. 17 Southern Illinois
Coming off a commanding 42-3 victory over Drake, the Coyotes are 2-1 with their only loss to the Badgers of Wisconsin.
South Dakota’s defense is ranked as the seventh-best in the nation, allowing an average of 11 points scored per game. The Coyotes lost star cornerback Myles Harden to the NFL but defensive backs such as Dennis Shorter and Mike Reid have picked up the slack.
Shorter and Reid each have an interception to their name this season with linebacker Jacob Clark pulling one in their opener against Northern State, a DII school in South Dakota.
Redshirt junior Aiden Bouman threw his first passing touchdown of the season against Drake while amounting to 418 passing yards.
Both Charles Pierre Jr. (254 yards) and Travis Theis (201 yards) have surpassed 200 rushing yards this season. Both tailbacks have tallied three rushing touchdowns each.
