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Last 2 in - high-powered South Dakota goes to Nicholls
(STATS) - Three years ago, South Dakota and Nicholls finished with a combined 2-22 record. Now they're both in the playoffs and certainly won't apologize for it.
While there's no question these programs have put together impressive turnarounds, what can be disputed is whether either one even deserves to be part of the postseason. After all, South Dakota ended the regular season with a three-game losing streak and a .500 conference record, and Nicholls was considered to be on the bubble going into last weekend before losing to a .500 team.
"I really thought eight wins could get us in, but you know, losing that last game, I had some doubt," Nicholls quarterback Chase Fourcade said of the 21-17 defeat at Southeastern Louisiana.
So there's good reason both were on the edge of their seat during Sunday's selection show, after which the committee chairman said these were the last two teams in the field.
"It became pretty nerve-wracking (after losing last Saturday), and that's why it was such an emotional moment for everybody in the room when our name popped up," South Dakota coach Bob Nielson said on his weekly radio show.
It's his 16th-ranked Coyotes who are big favorites despite playing on the road in the school's first FCS playoff appearance as they head to Thibodaux, Louisiana, on Saturday take on the Colonels.
South Dakota only went 7-4 but played in the conference widely considered the toughest in the FCS, the Missouri Valley. Back in 2014, the Coyotes finished 0-8 in MVFC play and 2-10 overall.
"Sunday was big in seeing our name in the field," junior running back Michael Frederick said. "Just from when I started here and how far we've come and how much has changed."
Nicholls was 0-12 back in 2014, but coach Tim Rebowe took over the following year and ignited a turnaround which led to the Colonels going 8-3 this season. Not only is this their first playoff game since 2005, but this is the first time they've ever hosted one.
"We thought that three years ago, we said, 'Hey, that's what we wanna come do, and build a winning program here," Rebowe said. "And we're doing that. By no means are we done yet. To host a playoff game, that's a whole other level."
His team will have to reach another level to keep up with a South Dakota offense that ranked second in the FCS with 519.8 yards per game. The only team ahead of the Coyotes was Sam Houston State, a team to which Nicholls lost 66-17 early in Southland Conference play.
While Nicholls didn't have one first-team selection in the Southland, South Dakota boasts the MVFC offensive player of the year in senior quarterback Chris Streveler. In his second year after transferring from Minnesota, Streveler is a dual threat who ranks second in the FCS in total offense with 3,871 yards and is tied for third with 33 total touchdowns while totaling just five turnovers.
His counterpart, Fourcade, had 10 interceptions to just 14 touchdown passes and isn't much of a threat on the ground. Nicholls did have four players post 100-yard rushing games behind a solid offensive line, but no playoff team had a worse turnover margin than the Colonels' minus-10.
The Coyotes committed just 10 turnovers all season, though six came in the regular season-ending three-game skid. They were held under 30 points in every one of those games, something that happened only once during their 7-1 start.
"We've moved the ball pretty well here the last three weeks but haven't put the number of points on the board that we've needed to put on the board," Nielson said. "Some of that is execution at critical times, so I think we've got some areas that we can improve on in that regard as we head into the playoffs."
