South Dakota football opens its 2026 season today against Central Connecticut State, a Week 0 matchup that begins with more than a simple home opener. South Dakota is at home, it is facing a team that also reached the FCS playoffs last season, and it is doing so with a new starting quarterback and a new head coach.
That is why the game is drawing attention now. South Dakota finished 10-5 in 2025 and reached the FCS quarterfinals before falling to Montana in the FCS quarterfinals, while Central Connecticut State went 8-5 and exited in the first round of the FCS playoffs. The combination makes this one of the sharper early tests on the FCS Week 0 schedule, and it gives the opening day result immediate weight for both programs.
Paul Cifonelli put the matchup among the top five games on the Week 0 slate and said South Dakota has a good setup by getting Central Connecticut State at home. He also noted that Central Connecticut State lost its starting quarterback and will have to deal with a difficult road environment to open the year. Those pieces help explain why South Dakota is being viewed as the stronger side before kickoff.
The concern for South Dakota is less about the setting than the player taking his first snaps. Austyn Modrzewski, a redshirt freshman, is making his first start and could work through some growing pains, especially against a playoff-caliber opponent. Cifonelli said South Dakota's defense should help by creating short fields and easing the load on the rookie quarterback, which is exactly the kind of support a new starter needs in a game like this.
That is the real point of this opener: South Dakota gets a chance to start 2026 at home against a familiar level of competition, but the performance of Modrzewski will shape how smoothly the transition goes under Matt Vitzthum. If the defense does its part and the quarterback settles in, South Dakota can turn a tricky Week 0 assignment into a clean first step; if not, the opener may show how much adjustment this season still requires.
