Mark Gronowski threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third and top-seeded South Dakota State dominated fourth-seeded Montana State 39-18 on a frozen field Saturday in the FCS semifinals in Brookings, S.D.
The Jackrabbits (13-1), who have won 13 games in a row, head to Texas next month for a Missouri Valley Football Conference showdown with third-seeded North Dakota State (12-2). SDSU beat the defending national champion Bison 23-21 on Oct. 15.
Gronowski led South Dakota State to touchdowns on its first five drives with a balanced offense that had 281 yards rushing and 192 passing.
On the other side, the Jackrabbits' nation-best rushing defense (85.4 yards a game) held the nation's best rushing offense (331.8) to 52 yards.
The game started with the temperature at 10 degrees and the windchill at minus-7. It was the coldest game ever played at South Dakota State.
The teams swapped touchdowns on their opening drives and then the Jackrabbits scored three consecutive touchdowns, shocking the Bobcats with two long scoring runs for a 28-9 lead at the half.
Gronowski, who had a 36-yard hookup with Tucker Kraft to open the scoring, capped a 12-play, 69-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge on the second drive. That gave him a rushing and passing TD in the same game nine times this season.
The next two touchdowns were a 41-yard burst up the middle by Isaiah Davis and a 38-yard scamper by Amar Johnson on a field that played like a skating rink.
