Brookings, South Dakota — The two programs with the longest playoff streaks in the Football Championship Subdivision square off Saturday afternoon with the Dakota Marker and more postseason football aspirations on the line as North Dakota State and South Dakota State renew their longstanding rivalry.
Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium with television coverage available through Midco Sports and ESPN+. Pre-game ceremonies are scheduled to include an F-16 flyover by the 114th Fighter Wing of the South Dakota Air National Guard.
NDSU comes into the matchup undefeated at 8-0 overall and in sole possession of the lead in the Missouri Valley Football Conference race with a 5-0 mark in league play. The Bison, ranked No. 2 in both the Stats Perform media poll and FCS Coaches’ rankings, recorded a 44-2 home win over Indiana State last week.
The Jackrabbits, meanwhile, rebounded from their second home loss in a row with a dominant performance of their own, crushing Youngstown State, 47-16, in road action Oct. 30. South Dakota State enters Saturday’s contest 6-2 overall and 3-2 in league play while holding rankings of ninth in the Stats Perform poll and 12th by the coaches.
North Dakota State has made 11 consecutive appearances in the FCS playoffs, followed by nine by SDSU.
THE SERIES: Saturday’s game marks the 112th meeting on the gridiron between SDSU and North Dakota State. NDSU leads the overall series by a 63-43-5 count, including a 10-7 advantage in Dakota Marker games since the two programs moved to the Football Championship Subdivision in 2004.
The rivalry began in 1903 with an 85-0 NDSU victory, and the two schools were both charter members of the North Central Conference, meeting every year from 1919 through 1942 until play was interrupted by World War II. The series resumed in 1946 and the two squads have met every year since.
This year’s edition of the rivalry will be the 14th consecutive game (playoffs included) in the series that both teams have been nationally ranked, and the ninth in that span in which both teams have been ranked in the top 10 of at least one of the two major FCS polls.
South Dakota State ended a three-game losing skid in the series earlier this calendar year by posting a 27-17 victory at the Fargodome on April 17 during the pandemic-altered spring season. The victory propelled the Jackrabbits into the top seed in the FCS playoffs.
