KENNESAW, Ga. – Taryn Christion made a pair of career-defining plays when the Jackrabbits needed them most.

The senior quarterback converted a key third down and later scored the clinching touchdown during fifth-seeded South Dakota State’s 27-17 defeat of fourth-seeded Kennesaw State on a very wet Saturday afternoon at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.

SDSU (10-2) is back in the semifinals for the second consecutive season, taking on top-seeded North Dakota State (13-0) on Friday.

“It was very physical; it rained the whole time so it was somewhat restricting to what you could do on offense, but our guys battled the whole time – on the road against the No. 4 team in America and came up with a win, so I’m excited about that,” said SDSU head coach John Stiegelmeier.

After the Owls scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull within three points, the Jackrabbits faced a third-and-12 on their own 33-yard-line with a little more than 5 minutes to play.

Christion read KSU’s blitz, stepping up in the pocket to avoid the rush and scrambling to his right before throwing a downfield strike to a streaking Cade Johnson for a 33-yard pickup.

Later, Christion weaved his way into the end zone from 15 yards out on third-and-7 to put SDSU on top 27-17 with 2:22 showing on the clock.

“That’s huge,” Stiegelmeier said of the quarterback. “He’s defining himself as one of the best – if not the best – players to play at South Dakota State, and we’ve had a lot of good ones. But he’s just a calming force and a great player.”

Logan Backhaus’ interception sealed the deal soon thereafter.

The conditions made things tricky throughout.

“It was a little tough to throw, a little tough,” noted Stiegelmeier. “But I think the biggest thing was, it was just constant – there was no letup as far as the rain. But I’ll tell you what, their field was tremendous; their field really held up well.”

Christion finished 12-of-18 for 147 yards with a touchdown and an interception, which came on the game’s opening drive. He also rushed for 37 yards.

Pierre Strong Jr. quietly racked up 112 yards on 18 carries while finding paydirt once.

Cade Johnson had four receptions covering 72 yards.

Xavier Ward forced KSU starting quarterback Chandler Burks – who left the game due to an injury at the 11-minute mark of the second quarter and did not return – to fumble midway through the first quarter and Eric Kleinschmit pounced on the loose ball at the SDSU 35.

Chase Vinatieri got the visitors on the board with a 24-yard field goal at the 4:47 mark of the opening period.

The Owls answered on their next drive with Justin Thompson’s 20-yard boot. That came after the Jackrabbit defense stuffed the Owls on third-and-goal at the 2.

Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff 48 yards across midfield.

Later, Strong picked up 23 yards to move the ball to the 3. Following a false-start penalty on third-and-goal from the 1, Christion connected with Adam Anderson on a fade for a 5-yard score with 12:21 to go in the second.

Burks went down with a left arm injury on KSU’s ensuing series and the Owls appeared to be in trouble after turning the ball over on downs following Daniel David’s incompletion on fourth-and-14 at the SDSU 32.

Christion had a 29-yard completion to Johnson and a 15-yard run to fuel the Jackrabbits’ ensuing drive. On third-and-goal from the 9, SDSU spread the field and Strong took a delayed handoff, running up the middle untouched to paydirt.

KSU avoided disaster just before the break after a review overturned an SDSU fumble recovery as the Jackrabbits were up 17-3 at halftime.

The Owls came out sharp after the break, moving to the SDSU 29; but they ended up punting.

Christion hit Kallan Hart for a 40-yard gain to begin SDSU’s final drive of the third. SDSU had a first-and-goal from the 2, but a false start was the beginning of the end as the Jackrabbits settled for a 23-yard Vinatieri kick to grab a 20-3 lead.

It got a bit wild in the fourth.

Everyone in the stadium bit on the Owls’ play action as David found a wide-open Jake McKenzie for a 19-yard TD toss with 14:29 to go.

On its next possession, KSU marched 91 yards on nine plays. Daniel found Isaac Foster for a 38-yard pickup to the 1 and then plunged to paydirt to pull Owls within 20-17 with 6:42 remaining.

SDSU’s Christian Rozeboom recorded a game-high 14 tackles, including three for loss. Backhaus and Brandon Snyder, who missed most of the second half following a helmet-to-helmet collision, added six stops apiece.

Semifinals

The Jackrabbits and Bison are facing off in primetime Friday, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. in the Fargodome.

“Initially I’m excited and proud of our team that we’re in the semifinals for the second year in a row – not a lot of people can say that,” said Stiegelmeier. “I’m excited to have a chance to play for a trip to Frisco, Texas.

“North Dakota State has done a tremendous job and if you want to get there and want to accomplish it, somebody has to go through them and we’re the team in the bracket so we have to go play our best football.”

Notes

The Jackrabbits improved to 8-7 in FCS Playoffs games, moving above the .500 mark for the first time. … This marks SDSU’s second 10-win season all-time (11 wins in 2017’s semifinal run). … Kennesaw State wrapped up its fourth year as a football program. The Owls fell to 3-2 in the FCS Playoffs with back-to-back appearances in the quarterfinals. … The Big South Conference champion Owls, who had their 11-game winning streak snapped, finished the year with an 11-2 record. … In the FCS career ranks, Christion moved from 15th to 14th in total yards of offense (12,838) and 25th to 23rd in passing yards (11,355). … Rozeboom, a junior, is second in SDSU history with 353 career tackles. … Vinatieri is now alone in third in the school ranks with 38 career field goals.

No. 5 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 27, No. 4 KENNESAW STATE 17

SDSU (10-2) 3  14  3    7  –  27

KSU (11-2) 3    0  0  14  –  17

First Quarter

SDSU – Chase Vinatieri 24 FG, 4:47

KSU – Justin Thompson 20 FG, 1:57

Second Quarter

SDSU – Adam Anderson 5 pass from Taryn Christion (Vinatieri kick), 12:21

SDSU – Pierre Strong Jr. 9 run (Vinatieri kick), 2:26

Third Quarter

SDSU – Vinatieri 23 FG, 2:18

Fourth Quarter

KSU – Jake McKenzie 19 pass from Daniel David (Thompson kick), 14:29

KSU – Daniel David 1 run (Thompson kick), 6:42

SDSU – Christion 15 run (Vinatieri kick), 2:22

SDSU KSU

First Downs 14 23

Plays-Yards 54-308 64-418

Rushes-Yards 36-161 52-312

C-A-Int.-Yards 12-18-1-147 6-12-1-106

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 5-1

Penalties-Yards 8-64 9-71

Punts-Avg.-I20-TB 4-43.2-2-0 3-30.3-1-0

Kickoffs-Avg.-TB 6-59.2-1 4-55-0

Punt Returns-Yards-TD 1-0-0 2-(-2)-0

Kickoff Returns-Yards-TD 4-114-0 4-91-0

Interception Returns-Yards-TD 1-0-0 1-(-1-0)

Fumble Returns-Yards-TD 0-0-0 0-0-0

Miscellaneous Yards 0 0

Possession Time 30:39 29:21

Third-down Conversions 6-of-13 5-of-12

Fourth-down Conversions 0-of-0 0-of-2

Red Zone Chances-TD-FG 5-3-2 4-2-1

Sacks By-Yards 0-0 1-4

Field Goals 2-for-2 1-for-1

RUSHING: SDSU – Pierre Strong Jr. 18-112, Taryn Christion 9-37, Mikey Daniel 4-13, C.J. Wilson 2-2, TEAM 3-(-3). KSU – Darnell Holland 8-92, Jake McKenzie 13-73, Daniel David 13-65, Chandler Burks 7-34, Shaquil Terry 7-26, Isaac Foster 1-21, Kyle Glover 1-4, KJ Hancock 1-3, TJ Reed 1-(-6).

PASSING: SDSU – Taryn Christon 12-18-1-147. KSU – Daniel David 5-11-1-94, Chandler Burks 1-1-0-12.

RECEIVING: SDSU – Cade Johnson 4-72, Blake Kunz 3-22, Kallan Hart 1-40, Isaiah Hill 1-12, Adam Anderson 1-5, C.J. Wilson 1-(-2), Pierre Strong Jr. 1-(-2). KSU – Isaac Foster 2-45, Jake McKenzie 2-31, Justin Sumpter 1-24, Xavier Harper 1-6.

DEFENSE: SDSU – Christian Rozeboom 14 tackles, FF; Logan Backhaus 6 tackles, INT; Brandon Snyder 6 tackles; Caleb Sanders 5 tackles; Eric Kleinschmit 4 tackles, FF, FR; Ryan Earith 4 tackles; Xavier Ward FF. KSU – Anthony Gore 7 tackles; Chance Bates 6 tackles; Bryson Armstrong 5 tackles, sack; Jace White 5 tackles; Cincere Mason INT.

   A – 3,242.

FCS PLAYOFFS

Quarterfinals

Friday, Dec. 7

No. 7 Maine 23, No. 2 Weber State 18

Saturday, Dec. 8

No. 1 North Dakota State 35, No. 8 Colgate 0

No. 5 South Dakota State 27, No. 4 Kennesaw State 17

No. 3 Eastern Washington 34, No. 6 UC Davis 29

Semifinals

[Games on ESPN2]

Friday, Dec. 14

No. 5 South Dakota State (10-2) at No. 1 North Dakota State (13-0), 7 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 15

No. 7 Maine (10-3) at No. 3 Eastern Washington (11-2), 1 p.m.

Championship – Saturday, Jan. 5

Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas

11 a.m. [ESPN2]

RECORDS BY CONFERENCE

Round

Qual. Rec. Byes Q S F

MVFC 3 5-1 2 2 2 1

Big Sky 4 5-3 3 3 1 —

Ohio Valley 2 2-2 0 0 0 0

Big South 1 1-1 1 1 0 0

Patriot 1 1-1 1 1 0 0

Northeast 1 1-1 0 0 0 0

Colonial 6 3-5 1 1 1 —

Southern 2 1-2 0 0 0 0

Southland 3 1-3 0 0 0 0

Pioneer 1 0-1 0 0 0 0

• No. 1 North Dakota State 35, No. 8 Colgate 0

FARGO, N.D. – The top-seeded and defending-champion Bison continued their dominance in the Fargodome in the postseason with the shutout victory of the Patriot League champion Raiders (10-2).

NDSU (13-0) extended its overall winning streak to 19 games, which is tied for the 10th longest in FCS history. It holds the record at 33.

The Bison are 30-2 in the FCS Playoffs, including 23-1 at home.

Bruce Anderson led the charge on the ground, running 12 times for 124 yards and a touchdown. Ty Brooks picked up 65 yards on eight attempts and scored once.

Easton Stick was 14-of-19 for 205 yards with three touchdowns through the air.

Lance Dunn, who found paydirt four times last week, carried five times for 13 yards before leaving the game with an arm injury.

NDSU outgained Colgate 443-157 in total yards of offense and possessed the ball for more than 36 minutes. The Raiders were 0-for-3 on fourth down and never reached the red zone.

The Bison defense forced a punt to open the game and Ty Brooks then capped a four-play, 96-yard drive with a 26-yard burst to the end zone.

The Raiders faced a fourth-and-2 at the NDSU 35-yard-line midway through the second, and Grant Breneman’s pass fell incomplete.

NDSU took over and marched 65 yards on 10 plays as Stick hit Ben Ellefson for a 2-yard TD toss to make it 14-0 with 2:27 left in the half.

The Bison added an eight-play, 70-yard scoring drive out of the halftime break as Stick hooked up with Darrius Shepherd for a 10-yard touchdown with 10:22 showing on the clock.

Bruce Anderson scored on a 42-yard run midway through the third to push the advantage to 28-0.

Later in the period, Colgate neared the red zone but a pair of sacks forced the Raiders into a fourth-and-17 at the NDSU 29. James Hendricks picked Breneman off in the end zone to halt the threat.

Stick threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Phoenix Sproles with 4:26 remaining in the game to provide for the final margin.

Stick improved to 47-3 in his 50th start. Former Bison Brock Jensen was 48-5, including 47-5 as a starter.

The Bison’s Derrek Tuszka recorded 2 1/2 sacks. Jabril Cox had six tackles.

For the Raiders, James Holland Jr. ran 11 times for 65 yards. Breneman was 9-of-21 for 68 yards with the INT.

T.J. Holt notched 16 tackles, including three for loss, and Alex Wisniewski added 12.

Total offense: NDSU 63-443 (44-238 rushing/14-19-205 passing), CU 48-157 (27-89 rushing/9-21-68 passing). Turnovers: NDSU 0, CU 1 (1 INT). Possession time: NDSU 36:16, CU 23:44. A: 16,404.

Playoffs

NDSU: 30-2 (23-1 home) in nine appearances. Extended streak of consecutive semifinal appearances to eight. Were in the quarterfinals for an FCS-record ninth year in a row. Won titles in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017.

Colgate: 7-11 in 11 appearances. Finalist in 2003.

• Eastern Washington 34, UC Davis 29

CHENEY, Wash. – Sam McPherson broke free for a 35-yard touchdown run with 26 seconds remaining to cap a four-play, 75-yard drive that lasted just 47 seconds as the Eagles (11-2) defeated the Aggies (10-3) in a matchup of Big Sky Conference co-champions.

McPherson finished with 143 yards on 24 carries.

Eric Barriere went 21-of-25 for 235 yards with three touchdowns and an INT while running for 43 yards and another score.

UCD’s Jake Maier was 26-of-38 for 234 yards with two TDs and two INTs. Ulonzo Gilliam ran for 132 yards and a pair of scores while adding a touchdown catch. Keelan Doss had nine receptions covering 143 yards.

Barriere scored on a 5-yard run to knot the score at 21-all with 10:06 remaining in the game and then threw a 7-yard scoring strike to Nsimba Webster to put the hosts ahead 28-21 with 7:12 showing on the clock.

The Aggies pulled within a point on Maier’s 3-yard TD toss to Gilliam with 1:13 left. Namane Modise ran in the two-point conversion to put UCD ahead 29-28.

The Eagles answered in a hurry.

Barriere picked up 29 yards on the ground on the first play and, after an incompletion, found Nsimba Webster for an 11-yard pickup. McPherson found room to the right on the next play and dashed to paydirt for the winning score.

EWU’s Jim Townsend came through with a late strip sack and Chris Ojoh pounced on the loose ball to seal the deal.

The Eagles opened the scoring after Barriere hit Terence Grady for a 5-yard score to cap an 11-play, 89-yard drive midway through the first stanza.

Gilliam scored on runs of 29 and 24 yards later in the period to put UC Davis on top 14-7.

EWU tied things up at 14-all on Barriere’s 13-yard TD toss to Belk Henderson.

UCD faced a fourth-and-goal at the 3-yard-line late in the first half; however, its trick play resulted in an Ojoh interception in the end zone, leaving the score knotted at the break.

The Aggies took their final lead – 21-14 – on Lance Babb’s 9-yard TD catch from Maier less than 3 minutes into the third quarter.

EWU’s Ketner Kupp had 16 tackles, Calin Criner 12, Kedrick Johnson (sack) 11 and Ojoh 10 (to go with the two takeaways). Anthany Smith and Mitchell Johnson both added INTs.

UCD’s Montell Bland tallied 11 tackles and Mason Moe (two sacks) had 10. Isiah Olave picked off a pass.

Notes: Weber State, EWU and UCD shared the Big Sky regular-season title, with the Wildcats earning the conference’s automatic bid. … The Eagles beat the Aggies 59-20 at home less than a month ago.

Total offense: EWU 68-482 (42-214 rushing/22-26-268 passing), UCD 77-469 (37-191 rushing/27-40-278 passing). Turnovers: EWU 1 (1 INT), UCD 4 (3 INT/1 fumble). Possession time: EWU 27:22, UCD 32:38. A: 5,503.

Playoffs

EWU: 18-11 in 13 appearances. Sixth semifinal appearance (1997, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016). 2010 champions.

UC Davis: 1-1 in first appearance.

Friday

• No. 7 Maine 23, No. 2 Weber State 18

OGDEN, Utah – The Colonial Athletic Association champion Black Bears (10-3) advanced to the semifinals for the first time, forcing four turnovers – including a key interception late by Jaron Grayer – and holding the Big Sky Conference champion Wildcats (10-3) to negative rushing yards.

Maine’s Chris Ferguson went 15-of-30 for 170 yards with two TDs and an INT.

Ramon Jefferson ran for 88 yards and a touchdown.

Deshawn Stevens, who recorded a sack, and Taji Lowe both recorded nine tackles. Jeffrey DeVaughn picked off a pair of passes and Manny Patterson added one.

Weber State’s Jake Constantine ended up 24-of-52 for 272 yards with a pair of TDs and four INTs. Darryl Denby had seven receptions for 154 yards with a score.

The Wildcats got on the board 11 seconds in the second quarter on Trey Tuttle’s 37-yard field goal.

Ferguson hooked up with Jaquan Blair for a 9-yard touchdown with 2:05 left in the half to give the Black Bears a 7-3 advantage.

Maine struck quickly out of the break as Ferguson hit Earnes Edwards for a 67-yard score to push the margin to 14-3.

Tuttle booted a 45-yard field goal soon thereafter. Constantine and Devon Cooley connected for a 33-yard touchdown with 1:55 to go in the third. Tuttle missed the PAT kick, as the Black Bears led 14-12.

That’s where the score stood until the 2:56 mark of the fourth when Jefferson got loose for a 45-yard dash to the end zone. However, it was still a one-score game – 20-12 – after Maine kicker Kenny Doak came up empty on the PAT attempt, which was pushed back 15 yards due to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Grayer picked off Constantine on the next play from scrimmage, giving the Black Bears the ball at the WSU 29-yard-line with 2:40 showing on the clock.

Doak’s 46-yard field goal with 1:34 remaining essentially sealed the victory.

Constantine threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Denby as time expired to provide for the final margin.

WSU’s LeGrand Toia made 10 stops and had an INT.

Total offense: UM 61-286 (31-116 rushing/15-30-170 passing), WSU 77-271 (25-(-1)/24-52-272 passing). Turnovers: UM 1 (1 INT), WSU 4 (4 INT). Possession time: UM 31:12, WSU 28:48. A: 7,726.

Playoffs

Maine: 5-7 in eight appearances (1-3 quarterfinals).

Weber State: 5-7 in seven appearances (0-4 quarterfinals).

John Silas/ Marietta Daily Journal photos:

Below 1, South Dakota State senior Eric Kleinschmit (31) and sophomore Joshua Manchigiah (3) celebrate after Kleinschmit recovered a fumble during the first quarter of the fifth-seeded Jackrabbits’ 27-17 victory over No. 4 Kennesaw State in the FCS Playoffs quarterfinals on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia. SDSU (10-2) earned a spot in the semifinals for the second consecutive season. The Jackrabbits face top-seeded and defending-champion North Dakota State (13-0) at 7 p.m. Friday in the Fargodome.

Below 2, The SDSU defensive unit stops KSU running back Darnell Holland (33) for no gain.

Below 3, Jackrabbit freshman running back Pierre Strong Jr. (20) scores on a 9-yard run up the middle in the second quarter.