BROOKINGS When the preseason polls were released back in August, South Dakota State and North Dakota State were ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Over two months later the Jackrabbits and Bison are still in the top two spots of the FCS and on Saturday night theyll play in a showdown at the Fargodome.
This will be the 116th meeting between the two schools on the football field but its the 21st time that the Jacks and Bison will play for the Dakota Marker. SDSU has won the last five meetings between the two programs, including the 2023 FCS National Championship.
SDSU senior quarterback Mark Gronowski said he and his teammates arent ready to give up the 7-foot-tall trophy just yet.
[NDSU] is going to bring an edge. Theyve already been talking about wanting to get the rock back and that theyve lost it for too long. Were just going to continue to play our style of football and what weve done in the past thats been successful. Continue to do what we do and bring 100% effort on to the field and were going to be alright, Gronowski said.
Both teams are playing their best football of the season as the Jacks have won five-straight and the Bison have won six in-a-row. SDSU has outscored its past four opponents 169-16 and the Bison have outscored their opponents 147-44 in that same stretch.
I think both teams are really sound in what they do and its who calls the right play at the right time, said SDSU head coach Jimmy Rogers. I do believe a lot of this game does not come down to scheme. It comes down to physicality, effort and playing a full 60 minutes and responding to one play after the next.
NDSU quarterback Cam Miller leads the FCS in passing efficiency (181.6) and is second in completion percentage (.766). He has not thrown an interception in his past 13 games and has thrown for more than 200 yards eight times in that span.
Rogers said making Miller inefficient is going to take some tough work, but he thinks the Jacks have the right formula to do so as Millers thrown four interceptions in his past two games against SDSU.
Cam Miller has improved in so many ways. Hes very efficient right now. Its a tall task [to make him uncomfortable]. We have to get pressure on the quarterback and we have to create it off of a four-man rush. We have to mix up our looks to make sure that theres some indecision in what the coverage is because he has elite processing skills and will get the ball out of his hands quickly, Rogers said.
The Jacks and Bison are both in the top 16 in the FCS in both total defense and rush defense. Theyre also both in the top 15 in the country in rush offense. SDSU and NDSU have been known as some of the toughest teams in the FCS and it has shown as the two schools have won 11 of the past 13 national titles.
The Bison have a new head coach this season as Tom Polasek took over the program in December of 2023. Rogers said the coaching staff is different but NDSU still does the same things.
Theyre physical up front. Theres maybe some scheme [differences] here and there, but not a ton. Were excited for the opportunity. I think up front they have maybe gotten better. All of these [offensive linemen], theyve been in the program and know expectations and theyre playing really well together. Defensively, theyre flying around and theyre North Dakota States defense and we know what that is, Rogers said.
SDSU put a new wrinkle into its offense this season as backup quarterback Chase Mason has been on the field at the same time as Gronowski. Mason broke out this past weekend against Youngstown State with 161 yards on the ground and three total touchdowns. Rogers said this week that theyll continue to try and get Mason on the field but its all situational.
This will be the first night game on a Saturday at the Fargodome since 2016 and just the third time in the regular season that the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked FCS team have met in the regular season. The game will be televised on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. and its the first time the Jacks and Bison have met on national television in the regular season.
Gronowski said this is what players come to SDSU and NDSU for. Playing in primetime on national television in front of a sold out crowd.
They always have a loud crowd, but playing in the Fargodome is fun. Where else would you want to be playing other than a full stadium on a Saturday night? Were really excited for it and weve been preparing for it. The crowd noise that weve been practicing with has been really loud, so well be ready for it, Gronowski said.
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