Kurtiss Riggs, Monday Afternoon Quarterback: "Survive and Advance" wins by SDSU, NDSU and Alabama, plus Augie's epic win over USF and Carson Wentz
Update: 2025-10-06
Description
Something seemed to be in the air in road games for perennial Dakotas college football powerhouses in their road games Saturday. That something was an upset alert.
* 14.5- point favorite South Dakota State, the No. 2 team in the FCS, trailed at No. 24 Youngstown State 17-7 at half.
* 24.5-point favorite North Dakota State, the defending FCS champion and top-ranked squad, barely led No. 6 Illinois State 18-16 after three quarters.
* Augustana, the 8th or 13th ranked Division II team, depending on which poll you prefer, trailed 28-10 after three quarters against a Sioux Falls team that had lost by a combined 43 points the previous two weeks to Duluth and Mankato, the two top 15 teams the Vikings are battling for NSIC supremacy.
In all three cases, the powerhouse prevailed with "program wins" or "culture wins." Winners win, so goes the old USF mantra.
But should fans of those juggernauts be as miffed after the fact as they were in the moment with losses staring them in the face?
Should "survive and advance" or "just win, baby" be the right way to look at those close calls?
The foremost TV football analyst of South Dakota should know. Kurtiss Riggs guided the Sioux Falls Storm to 11 professional indoor football championships in 20 years and was part of staffs at both USF and Roosevelt High School that won multiple titles. His perspective of how difficult it is to stay at the top and keep hungry — if not spoiled — fan bases happy is provided.
Speaking of coaches of spoiled fan bases, Riggs' best friend Kalen DeBoer survived another week of scorching scrutiny by fending off now-formidable Vanderbilt at home after ESPN's College Gameday came to town. Hear Riggs' insight into how the Crimson Tide are coming into their own in DeBoer's second season, plus thoughts on DeBoer's "Gameday" interview while sitting next to the looming shadow that is his predecessor, Nick Saban.
Riggs also offers opinions on how No. 2 Brandon Valley took down No. 1 Sioux Falls Lincoln in South Dakota's Class 11AAA high school game of the year, plus takeaways from some rather inspiring veteran quarterback play in the NFL — particularly from Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, and Dak Prescott.
Strange days, indeed.
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