SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – South Dakota State sent the Missouri State Bears packing Saturday in the potential final meeting between the schools, pummeling their FBS-bound opponent 45-9 in front of 7,412 fans at Plaster Stadium.

With North Dakota State’s win and loss to South Dakota, the Bison, Coyotes and Jackrabbits all secure a three-way tie for the Missouri Valley Football Conference regular season title. The Bears could have shared the title with USD and NDSU had they defeated the Jacks, but SDSU handed them a loss in their last game at the FCS level.

The Jacks jumped out to a 14-0 lead, and after the Bears used a trio of field goals to get within 17-9, SDSU scored the final 28 points of the game to end the regular season on 10-2.

Mark Gronowski threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns, while Amar Johnson, Angel Johnson, Maxwell Woods and Kirby Vorhees combined for 172 yards, with Vorhees and Amar Johnson each scoring two rushing touchdowns.

Missouri State (8-4) averaged more than 37 points per game, but the Jackets held them without a touchdown. They limited Bears running back Jacadia Wright to 16 yards on nine carries, while quarterback Jacob Clark, who leads the Valley in passing yards and touchdowns, completed just 14 of 31 throws for 186 yards. MSU went 2-for-14 on third downs and finished the game with 220 yards of total offense.

Griffin Wilde had four catches for 139 yards and a touchdown, while Kevin Brenner had three catches for 28 yards and one score.

Adam Bock had six tackles and a sack for the Jackrabbits’ surging defense, while Tucker Large had five tackles and three pass breakups. Aaron Wolfcale-Holsten had 1.5 of the team’s five sacks.

The Jackrabbits, who have won their last four games by a combined score of 176-32, will find out their playoff fate Sunday morning during the FCS playoff selection show. Montana State is expected to be the No. 1 seed as the last remaining undefeated team. SDSU, USD and NDSU are all candidates to finish in the top four behind the Bobcats.

Matt Zimmer is a Sioux Falls native and longtime sportswriter. He graduated from Washington High School, where he played football and Legion baseball and developed his lifelong love of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. After graduating from St. Cloud State University, he returned to Sioux Falls and began a long career in amateur baseball and sports reporting. Email Matt at [email protected].