South Dakota State won't be the only desperate team in Grand Forks on Saturday that has lost its grip on what was a promising season and is holding on for dear life to reach the postseason. North Dakota was a strong 6-2 — losses only to current No. 2 Montana by one point and Kansas State by three — and ranked No. 8 when the Fighting Hawks soared into Vermillion and were suffocated by South Dakota's defense for most of three quarters, trailing 26-7 en route to a 26-21 loss. UND followed that up the next week by forcing No. 1 North Dakota State on the ropes before the Bison recovered to deliver a late knockout punch to win 15-10. The Hawks then did what every Missouri Valley Conference Football team does — beat Murray State. Losers of two of three, UND is now in the same 7-4 boat as SDSU — losers of four straight — likely needing to win Saturday in the Alerus Center to reach the FCS playoffs. While the Hawks have four "quality losses" by five or fewer points, they don't have the win total nor enough "quality wins" to just slip into the postseason. So, what about UND has made it tough for the top two FCS teams and a Big 12 team to beat the Hawks? And why have they also not been world beaters? Has something slipped down the stretch? Just like SDSU, UND has a combination of strengths, weaknesses, and key late season injuries. Why are the Hawks the No. 2 defense in the MVFC (18.8 ppg), and how will they make life miserable for an SDSU offense — even if Chase Mason returns — that is averaging just 14 points in the Jacks' recent 0-4 stretch? All the straight-shooting UND insight you need is in Thursday's Happy Hour pre-game interview with the veteran Voice of the Hawks Jack Michaels. Before Michaels, it's that time of the week. John Gaskins and Trent Singer sip on beer while chewing on all the juicy storylines of this SDSU-UND desperation duel. They also look back to Brandon Valley's impressive 34-27 Class 11AAA state championship win to deny Lincoln a three-peat while looking ahead to which teams might have the arsenal to reach the DakotaDome next November. Trent and John also dive into Sioux Falls Christian's thrilling win over Lennox to gain revenge and the Chargers' first state title in seven years. How did Jared Smith build SFC back after taking over for back-to-back champion Jake Pettengill in 2019, the year the Chargers' enrollment forced them to move up a class from 11B to 11A? Hint: It wasn't easy. Smith opens a vein about his struggles those first few years and the pain of losing last year's championship game as a favorite. How he harnessed that heartache for an entire year in the SFC locker room to motivate this year's group to accomplish nothing less than the title trophy is something you'll want to hear. Smith also describes his reuniting with Kim Nelson, the all-time South Dakota high school football wins leader who mentored Smith at Sioux Falls Roosevelt from 2009-16 and joined Smith's staff at SFC this past summer to run the offense. Nelson had retired after 45 years of head coaching, then spent a season as Roosevelt's freshman coach. The bond between the two, storytelling of how Nelson fit right in, and the moment the two shared as Saturday's clock struck zero on a championship is also something you'll want to hear. Oh, and Smith's response to a growing chorus of South Dakota high school football fans who feel SFC has an unfair dominance in Class 11A and needs to move up to 11AA? Yeah, you'll want to hear that. He doesn't hold back.

John Gaskins and Trent Singer sip on beer while chewing on all the juicy storylines of this SDSU-UND desperation duel. They also look back to Brandon Valley's impressive 34-27 Class 11AAA state championship win to deny Lincoln a three-peat while looking ahead to which teams might have the arsenal to reach the DakotaDome next November. Trent and John also dive into Sioux Falls Christian's thrilling win over Lennox to gain revenge and the Chargers' first state title in seven years. Plus.. predictions for Vikings-Packers, Chiefs-Colts, and Huskers-Penn State. For what it's worth. And it is not a lot.

South Dakota State won't be the only desperate team in Grand Forks on Saturday that has lost its grip on what was a promising season and is holding on for dear life to reach the postseason. North Dakota was a strong 6-2 — losses only to current No. 2 Montana by one point and Kansas State by three — and ranked No. 8 when the Fighting Hawks soared into Vermillion and were suffocated by South Dakota's defense for most of three quarters, trailing 26-7 en route to a 26-21 loss. UND followed that up the next week by forcing No. 1 North Dakota State on the ropes before the Bison recovered to deliver a late knockout punch to win 15-10. The Hawks then did what every Missouri Valley Conference Football team does — beat Murray State. Losers of two of three, UND is now in the same 7-4 boat as SDSU — losers of four straight — likely needing to win Saturday in the Alerus Center to reach the FCS playoffs. While the Hawks have four "quality losses" by five or fewer points, they don't have the win total nor enough "quality wins" to just slip into the postseason. So, what about UND has made it tough for the top two FCS teams and a Big 12 team to beat the Hawks? And why have they also not been world beaters? Has something slipped down the stretch? Just like SDSU, UND has a combination of strengths, weaknesses, and key late season injuries. Why are the Hawks the No. 2 defense in the MVFC (18.8 ppg), and how will they make life miserable for an SDSU offense — even if Chase Mason returns — that is averaging just 14 points in the Jacks' recent 0-4 stretch? All the straight-shooting UND insight you need is in Thursday's Happy Hour pre-game interview with the veteran Voice of the Hawks Jack Michaels.

How did Jared Smith build SFC back after taking over for back-to-back champion Jake Pettengill in 2019, the year the Chargers' enrollment forced them to move up a class from 11B to 11A? Hint: It wasn't easy. Smith opens a vein about his struggles those first few years and the pain of losing last year's championship game as a favorite. How he harnessed that heartache for an entire year in the SFC locker room to motivate this year's group to accomplish nothing less than the title trophy is something you'll want to hear. Smith also describes his reuniting with Kim Nelson, the all-time South Dakota high school football wins leader who mentored Smith at Sioux Falls Roosevelt from 2009-16 and joined Smith's staff at SFC this past summer to run the offense. Nelson had retired after 45 years of head coaching, then spent a season as Roosevelt's freshman coach. The bond between the two, storytelling of how Nelson fit right in, and the moment the two shared as Saturday's clock struck zero on a championship is also something you'll want to hear. Oh, and Smith's response to a growing chorus of South Dakota high school football fans who feel SFC has an unfair dominance in Class 11A and needs to move up to 11AA? Yeah, you'll want to hear that. He doesn't hold back.

Do you remember your first year at your current job? Was it easy? Was it hard? Perhaps that depended on what you inherited — a well-oiled machine, a mess, a bare cupboard? — or what what was expected of you (instant success or time to grow). Wednesday's Happy Hour is all about performance on the new job and how much slack to cut rookies. Host John Gaskins starts with a look at the rookie head coaches of the four FCS schools in North Dakota and South Dakota. All are first-time bosses. NDSU's Tim Polasek got a year head start on SDSU's Dan Jackson, USD's Travis Johansen, and UND's Eric Schmidt. They all inherited different circumstances. Who had the toughest build and who has performed the best? Gaskins breaks it down, then gives a follow up to two recent Happy Hour topics — Jackrabbit fan angst toward Jimmy Rogers and "what he did to his alma mater" and SDSU's offering a scholarship to Brody Schafer, the greatest prep quarterback talent Sanford Sports Academy football director and SDSU TV analyst Kurtiss Riggs has seen. What does Riggs think of USD having not offered Schafer yet? Then, one of those rookie coaches joins Gaskins for his weekly one-on-one Happy Hour chat. Johansen is certainly coming on strong, steadying USD ship through rocky 2-3 early waters and guiding the Coyotes to a 6-1 finish that included three consecutive wins over Top 25 teams to finish the season and seal a playoff berth. So, how and why did that happen, particularly the wild 53-51 five overtime win at Southern Illinois. Prior to that, USD's offense had yet to score 20 points in a Missouri Valley Conference game that had not involved last place and winless Murray State (USD's offense scored 17 points in a 26-21 win over UND). But Aidan Bouman and crew came roaring back to overcome a 17-point second half deficit while the defense forced four stops in the comeback. How? Wednesday's second guest gave a nuanced angle to J.J. McCarthy's rookie reeling. The NFL's lowest-rated quarterback sure looks like a bust through five games, but LaVelle Neal — a 28-year sportswriter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and currently an at-large columnist — looks at McCarthy's disasters through the lens of a Bears fan now enjoying an uptick from Caleb Williams. Neal was also the Minnesota Twins beat writer for 22 years and covered the recent hire of Derek Shelton as manager. Underwhelming to most, Neal sees an upside and also pinpoints where the blame of the Rocco Baldelli era should truly lie.

Wednesday's second guest gave a nuanced angle to J.J. McCarthy's rookie reeling. The NFL's lowest-rated quarterback sure looks like a bust through five games, but LaVelle Neal — a 28-year sportswriter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and currently an at-large columnist — looks at McCarthy's disasters through the lens of a Bears fan now enjoying an uptick from Caleb Williams. Neal was also the Minnesota Twins beat writer for 22 years and covered the recent hire of Derek Shelton as manager. Underwhelming to most, Neal sees an upside and also pinpoints where the blame of the Rocco Baldelli era should truly lie.

Host John Gaskins breaks down the performance of SDSU's Dan Jackson, USD's Travis Johansen, UND's Tim Polasek, and UND's Eric Schmidt based on degree of difficulty in their first year. In Polasek's case, that was last year.

Also, hear Kurtiss Riggs's strong opinion on SDSU (and not USD) offering a scholaeship to Lincoln junior QB Brody Schafer.

Then, Star Tribune veteran columnist LaVelle Neal on J.J. McCarthy's reeling and why Caleb Williams could be a guiding light.

It was brutal. It was comical. It was full of "third grade mistakes" and looked like a football team "disinterested in playing competent football. There aren't big enough words to describe South Dakota State falling behind 35-0 at home and eventually suffering a fourth consecutive loss after starting the season 7-0. Matt Zimmer tried in his game column on Saturday. With three days to process the debacle — which was followed by an inspired, dizzying 21-point SDSU comeback to lose 35-21 to Illinois State — Zim has even more words and searches for reasons for all the mistakes that had Jackrabbits made. Was it a lack of confidence? A lack of experience in facing this kind of a slump and adversity? How about coaching and play-calling? No matter what it was, it led to a chorus of "boos" from the crowd in Brookings. Was such howling warranted? Should it be in college athletics? Zim tackles all this, plus the latest Chase Mason Magical Mystery Tour that heads to Grand Forks for the regular season finale and what appears to be a "do or die" and "win and you're in" showdown with North Dakota. What is Zim's sense of Mason's availability and playability based on what Dan Jackson is saying — including here on Happy Hour — and how much difference Mason playing would make in the Jacks' chances of beating the Fighting Hawks. If Mason plays, and plays decent, and the Jacks lose, do they still deserve a playoff spot? Other saucy topics — SDSU's offer to Brody Schafer, his older brother Tate's FCS marketability after lighting things up at USF, the screwiness of the polls, Zim and John's unworn Jackrabbit and Coyote apparel, Outkast, The Replacements, New Kids on the Block, and Larry Bird's trash talking before NBA All-Star 3-point shooting contests. Oh, and how about those USD Coyotes? Yes, Zim has plenty of thoughts on the three-game winning streak, all against Top 25 teams, to finish the season and assure a playoff spot. The Yotes deserve plenty of time. The Jacks, though — with their playoff uncertainty, wild recent tailspin, and the storylines of the game they are playing Saturday while USD is off — take up most of the hour.

All roads lead back to Chase Mason.

If No. 22 South Dakota State's first-string quarterback plays for the first time in five games on Saturday, the Jackrabbits far more likely to beat No. 16 North Dakota in a regular season finale that might decide if the Jacks reach the playoffs or not.

It should be difficult for SDSU fans to muster any confidence the Jackrabbits could beat the Fighting Sioux — with the No. 2 defense in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, giving up 18.8 points per game — without Mason when SDSU averaged 40 points per game and went 7-0 with him, then stumbled to their first four-game losing streak in 14 years and averaged 14 points without him.

Why is SDSU so helpless without Mason even though he doesn't block, tackle, play running back, play defense, or field snaps and return kicks — the kinds of things the Jacks have botched in this dismal month?

Will he be able to put on the cape and save the season in Grand Forks? Head coach Dan Jackson gave the latest status on Mason's month-long foot injury on Monday's "Happy Hour with John Gaskins" show, and John plays the answer in this Monday "John-o-logue."

Meanwhile, how did USD turn the corner to win three straight Top 25 games to finish the regular season? What do we make of the latest losses for former Jackrabbit Mark Gronowski at Iowa and (former?) NFL cult figure J.J. McCarthy?