How to watch South Dakota State at North Dakota State football game
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SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (5-1) AT NORTH DAKOTA STATE (5-1)
WHEN/WHERE: 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Fargodome
TV: Midco Sports Network
ONLINE: ESPN+ and Midco Sports Net Plus
RADIO: WNAX-AM 570; Jackrabbit radio affiliates
COACHES: SDSU – John Stiegelmeier (26th year, 190-112); NDSU – Matt Entz (4th year, 42-5)
SERIES: NDSU leads 63-44-5
LAST TIME: SDSU won 27-19 last year in Brookings
LAST WEEK: SDSU beat USD 28-3; NDSU beat Indiana State 31-26
RANKINGS: NDSU is ranked No. 1 in both polls; SDSU is No. 2 in the STATS poll and No. 3 in the Coaches poll
More:History of the Dakota Marker: South Dakota State trails North Dakota State 10-8
South Dakota State vs. North Dakota State game preview
It’s a battle for first place in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
It’s a battle for playoff seeding.
It’s a battle between the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams in the country.
And it’s a border battle – South Dakota State and North Dakota State for the Dakota Marker. Saturday in Fargo. Kick-off at 2:30.
It doesn’t get any bigger than this for a regular-season game.
“It’s a big one,” said Bison coach Matt Entz. “Two teams that have great respect for one another and love to beat each other. Both teams are going to play unbelievably hard on Saturday and I anticipate it’ll be an awesome atmosphere.”
The last time SDSU visited the Fargodome they came away with a 27-17 win. That was in the spring season of 2021, and only 8,762 fans were allowed in attendance due to social distancing.
More:Are the Jackrabbits the Dakota Marker favorites in battle of No. 1 vs. No. 2?
A few more folks are expected to be in the stands for this one. As such, the Jacks have spent much of the week practicing indoors with artificial noise to simulate the crowd. They believe they’ll be ready, especially after the struggles they had in their season opener at Iowa, where a crowd of more than 70,000 clearly caused them problems.
“The more we experience that the more comfortable we get with it,” said wide receiver Jadon Janke. “We didn’t do a great job with it at Iowa. I don’t think our guys had seen that many fans; that was definitely the loudest environment I’ve ever experienced. USD is loud, it’s been loud here, we’ve been to (the Fargodome), so I think we’re accustomed to it and we’re ready for it.
The Jacks are coming off one of their best wins in recent memory, as they not only avenged consecutive losses to their other rival, USD, but dominated in doing so, holding the Coyotes to a mere 136 yards in a 28-3 rout.
It was their fifth straight win. Now they’ll aim to keep the Dakota Marker in Brookings for a third straight year with what would be their second straight win in Fargo.
The Jacks defense is playing as well as it ever has, holding opponents to 12 points and 227 yards per game, and the offense seems to make steady progress each week. Isaiah Davis ran for 105 yards and three touchdowns last week, after rushing for 199 yards the week before that, and the passing game, already loaded with weapons, should be getting Landon Wolf and Tucker Kraft back soon.
“They’re definitely good at what they do,” said Bison defensive end Spencer Waege. “It seems like their run game, every year they find a way to have really good running backs and really good O-linemen up front. All their positions – quarterback, running back, receivers, tight ends – they always just have really talented guys at every spot.”
The Bison, meanwhile, are coming off a 31-26 road win against Indiana State that left Entz and his players disappointed with their play. The Bison defense has looked slightly vulnerable at times but still ranks second in the league behind SDSU in points and yards allowed, while they rank atop the Valley in scoring offense (36.5), total offense (405) and rushing offense (265.8).
Fullback Hunter Luepke has been getting national attention ever since last year’s national championship game, and leads the Bison with 480 yards and eight touchdowns rushing. Cam Miller is in his third season as the quarterback, and he’s been efficient, completing 69 percent of his passes with six touchdowns and only one interception.
Waege, a former Watertown standout, leads the Bison defense with 3.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss.
“I think their defense is very similar to ours in what they do and how well they play, so it really helps us to practice against our defense all fall and all throughout the season,” said Jacks quarterback Mark Gronowski, who’s thrown for 1,119 yards and 10 touchdowns through six games. “Hopefully that helps us going against them on Saturday.”
When NDSU first established its dominance in the rivalry and across FCS football, it wasn’t hard to pinpoint why: They were the most physical team in the country. The faces would change at the skill positions, and the dominance continued because of how well NDSU owned the trenches. The Jacks gradually made inroads in those areas, and are now a similarly dominant team on the line of scrimmage. That always makes these matchups fun for those who enjoy old-fashioned, smashmouth football.
“The key is who is able to run the ball the best,” said Jacks coach John Stiegelmeier. “Our D-line against their stable of running backs and our O-line against their D-line – that will be the determining factor, and that also impacts the game in terms of the crowd and emotion. It’s a huge game. I don’t need to say anything to hype this game to our players.”
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: How to watch South Dakota State football at North Dakota State
