{"id":114361,"date":"2023-12-08T17:25:27","date_gmt":"2023-12-09T01:25:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/herosports.com\/?p=114361"},"modified":"2023-12-08T17:25:29","modified_gmt":"2023-12-09T01:25:29","slug":"fcs-playoffs-2023-sdsu-villanova-preview-dsds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/herosports.com\/fcs-playoffs-2023-sdsu-villanova-preview-dsds\/","title":{"rendered":"FCS Playoffs: #8 Villanova at #1 South Dakota State Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South Dakota State takes its perfect record (and perfect playoffs thus far) into a home date with Villanova on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jackrabbits are coming off a steamrolling of Mercer 41-0 and, while it would be a surprise to see SDSU win that <\/em>comfortably vs. Nova, the Jacks are clicking for Eddie Robinson Award-winning head coach Jimmy Rogers. South Dakota State leads the nation in third down conversion percentage (.563) and in red zone offense (.979 scoring).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This unrelenting offense will be Villanova\u2019s problem in the FCS<\/a> quarterfinals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SDSU\u2019s Offense vs. Villanova\u2019s Defense<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jackrabbits junior quarterback Mark Gronowski is tops in the country in passing efficiency (182.51), jolted by a pristine 24:4 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Gronowski annually has the best running back in the playoffs by his side, as senior Isaiah Davis this season is averaging 6.7 yards per carry to go with 1,192 rushing yards and 14 ground TDs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seems like each postseason, Davis gets three times more difficult to tackle, giving Villanova its obvious work cut out to avoid showing up on Twitter whiffing on Davis truckings on national television. The Wildcats do possess an FCS top 20 rushing defense (110.4 YPG allowed) and are 11th nationally in third-down defense (allowing .323 conversion).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the discrepancy in SDSU’s third-down offense and Nova’s third-down defense, something has to give in third down scenarios when SDSU has the ball. If Villanova can get off the field defensively enough in the first half to keep it interesting through the break, paired with a takeaway or two, that would be the likely formula to give a promising Wildcats offense a chance to play its game with the game script under control. Of course, that requires VU getting South Dakota State to third downs to begin with.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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