Breaking down South Dakota State-Montana and picking best FCS teams ever - ESPN

As it pertains to national titles, the theme for 2023 has been «succession.» Freshness. At the FBS level, on Monday night, either Michigan or Washington will win its first national title since the 1990s. At the smaller-school level, we got a run of first-timers: Harding, SUNY Cortland and Keiser University all won their first national titles at the Divisions II and III and NAIA levels.

If that theme holds in Sunday's FCS championship game in Frisco, Texas (ABC, 2 p.m. ET), then congratulations in advance to Bobby Hauck's Montana Grizzlies. Montana is one of the power programs of college football's second subdivision, a physical team with a passionate fanbase, but the Griz haven't won a ring since 2001. And they've got one of the best FCS teams ever standing in their way.

South Dakota State, the 2022 national champ, has won 28 straight games and took its first three playoff games by a combined score of 123-12. At worst, the Jackrabbits are as good as any of the North Dakota State teams that won titles in the 2010s. But they might top even the all-time FCS gold standard, 1995 Marshall. They are an absolute wrecking ball, and they are playing for history. Montana's task is a tall one.

In 14 games, South Dakota State has suffered only two even remotely close calls: a 20-16 win over Montana State in Week 2 and a 17-10 win over Southern Illinois in Week 8. The Jacks have outscored 12 other opponents, including seven playoff teams, by an average of 42-9. The transition from legendary coach John Stiegelmeier, who retired after securing a long-sought title last year, to first-year leader and longtime former Stiegelmeier assistant Jimmy Rogers, has been remarkably seamless. (Having a roster with 34 seniors has helped.)

SDSU in the