FARGO – The 21st annual Dakota Marker football game between No. 1-ranked South Dakota State and No. 2-ranked North Dakota State has been scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, October 19, with television coverage on ESPN2.

North Dakota State University (NDSU) enters the game 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) after a 24-3 road win over Southern Illinois. South Dakota State University (SDSU) is 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the MVFC after a 63-13 home win over Youngstown State.

Saturday will be the first national TV appearance for the Dakota Marker game, which was established in 2004 when NDSU and SDSU began Division I play. The series is tied 10-10.

This will be NDSU’s 43rd nationally televised football game as a Division I program. The Bison are 20-1 at home and 20-2 on ESPN2 with a national TV audience.

Entering the 116th meeting this week, the NDSU-SDSU series is the 11th most played rivalry among current FCS programs. NDSU leads the all-time series 63-47-5, but SDSU has won its last two trips to Fargo and five straight overall including a 33-16 victory in Brookings last season.

This is the fourth time NDSU and SDSU will play on October 19th, the same date the series began in 1903 with an 85-0 Bison win in Fargo. The teams tied 0-0 in the 1929 game and the Bison won 31-7 in 1996, both in Fargo.

This will be NDSU’s second regular-season matchup against a No. 1-ranked team in the FCS. The Bison are 3-3 against top-ranked teams with four of those games played in Frisco, Texas, for the FCS national championship.

NDSU vs. No. 1-Ranked FCS Opponents;

12/11/2010 – at Eastern Washington – L, 31-38 (OT)

1/7/2012 – vs Sam Houston State – W, 17-6

1/9/2016 – vs Jacksonville State – W, 37-10

1/6/2018 – vs James Madison – W, 17-13

1/8/2023 – vs South Dakota State – L, 21-45

11/4/2023 – at South Dakota State – L, 16-33

At least 15 NFL scouts will be in attendance for Saturday’s game, the most for an NDSU home game since 25 attended the lone fall 2020 game against Central Arkansas. That was the final home game for two 2021 draft picks– first round quarterback Trey Lance and second round offensive tackle Dillon Radunz. The NDSU-SDSU game drew seven scouts in 2022 and eight in 2018. The Bison have 12 former players currently on NFL rosters; the Jackrabbits have six.

NDSU is tied with Cornell, Delaware and Eastern Washington for the FCS lead in fewest turnovers lost with two this season. NDSU leads the MVFC with a plus-8 turnover margin, including plus-4 over the past two weeks. In NDSU’s five-game losing streak to SDSU since the spring of 2021, the Jackrabbits have created 10 turnovers while committing none.

If there’s a magic number in the Dakota Marker series, it might be 170. That’s the number of rushing yards SDSU has held NDSU under in each of its seven victories since 2016. NDSU has rushed for 170 or more yards in all 10 of its wins since 2012.

SDSU enters on a 19-game conference winning streak, which is tied for the most consecutive wins in MVFC play. NDSU won 19 straight league games from 2017 to 2020-21 and 18 from 2012 to 2014.

NDSU was named Stats Perform FCS National Team of the Week after the 41-17 win over the University of North Dakota. The Bison scored on six of their first seven possessions led by MVFC Offensive Player of the Week Cam Miller, who accounted for 207 yards of total offense and three touchdowns.

NDSU held UND to a season-low 101 rushing yards with safety Sam Jung making a team-high six tackles and defensive end Dylan Hendricks making three stops including one sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

The Bison have a 192-29 record in the Fargodome, 34-6 at home against FCS Top 10 ranked teams, and winners of 84 of the last 86 home games over non-conference opponents.