BROOKINGS — South Dakota State has beaten North Dakota State the last four times the two schools have met on the football field. What was once a one-sided rivalry in favor of the Bison has now flipped in favor of the Jackrabbits.

NDSU had won 12 of the previous 14 matchups before the four-game SDSU win streak, including eight straight from 2010-15. In those losses there was a continuing theme and it was that the Bison were dominating the Jacks along the line of scrimmage. SDSU sixth-year offensive guard Mason McCormick said when he arrived at SDSU in 2018 it was emphasized that the Jacks needed to get bigger and stronger along the offensive and defensive lines.

“For a lot of years they kicked our butts on the line of scrimmage and ultimately, that was the gap that needed to be closed. They’re still extremely good, but we’ve gotten better and it’s going to be a good game for sure,” McCormick said.

SDSU has done what was preached to McCormick and it has paid diffidence over the past three seasons as the Jacks have dominated the rushing battle during their four-game win streak in the series. In the past four meetings the Jacks have averaged 244 yards on the ground, while the Bison have averaged 132.8 yards rushing.

In the past two meetings, junior running back Amar Johnson has been the leading rusher for SDSU and they were the two of the top three performances in his career. In SDSU’s 23-21 win in the Fargodome in the regular season last year he ran for 89 yards on 12 carries and in the national championship he ran for a career-high 126 yards on nine carries.

GOING TO THE GAME?

• What: Dakota Marker game

• When: SATURDAY, 2 p.m.

• Where: Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings

• The series (115th meeting): NDSU leads the series 63-46-5 and has won 10 of the 19 Dakota Marker meetings.

• 2022 records: SDSU 8-0, 5-0; NDSU 6-2, 3-2

• TV: Midco Sports, ESPN+

• Radio: AM 910 KJJQ

• Game notes: SDSU has won four-straight against NDSU, including last year’s national championship.

This is the 17th consecutive game in the series that both teams are ranked in the FCS Polls.

SDSU has won 22-straight games, which is tied for the sixth-longest win streak in FCS history.

Johnson said the success against NDSU has to do with preparation that the Jacks put in during the week leading up to the games and not wanting to lose to their rivals from up north.

“Really it’s just preparation and just knowing what to expect. … I think the guys [on the offensive line] have been here for a minute and they’re not trying to lose [to NDSU]. I take it back to an old school rivalry in high school. I took pride in never losing to a rival school when I was [in high school] and I take it like that here too. Those [offensive linemen] already know what’s coming because they’ve played here so long and when you prepare and play teams over and over again you know what to expect,” Johnson said.

Despite the fact that SDSU has dominated the line of scrimmage over the past three seasons, McCormick made sure to note that the Jacks are not in complete control of the rivalry.

“I don’t think the shift is them declining. I think we’ve kind of grown in our program. They’ve had an extremely good O line for as many years as everybody can remember. That’s one of the top offensive and defensive lines in the country and they still have that. They have great coaches, they play hard and they execute,” McCormick said.

If you were to make the argument that SDSU is in complete control of the rivalry, you could point to the fact that the Jacks have won 22 straight games and NDSU has lost two games this season. The No. 10 ranked Bison are 6-2 on the season and their losses came to North Dakota and South Dakota and the Jacks beat both of those teams by more than 20.

SDSU head coach Jimmy Rogers made sure to point out in his weekly press conference that NDSU is still a championship-caliber team even though the Bison seem to be down.

“I’m not concerned with where they’re at in the rankings. We are well aware of who is coming to town and the talent that’s on that football team. … I know there’s a lot of talk of what they aren’t. I think they’re a championship-level program and we’re going to need to bring our best this weekend,” Rogers said.

SDSU is coming off of a dominating 37-3 win over No. 4 ranked South Dakota. It’s the second-straight season that the Jacks have had to play their two arch rivals in back-to-back weeks. Johnson said he thinks coming off such a big win will only motivate the Jacks to have a repeat performance against another rival.

“I think we try to embrace [the rivalries]. Coming off a game like USD and doing what we did to them boys, you can take that momentum and use it against another big rival. The crowd and everybody coming out, that’s just going to help us even more at the end of the day,” Johnson said.

McCormick made the decision to come back for another season after the Jackrabbits beat the Bison in January and won their first ever national title. He said that games like the one that will be played on Saturday played a big part in that decision.

“These are the games you come to South Dakota State for. You come for the big games and the sold out crowds. Our crowd has been amazing so far this season and you come for things like this,” McCormick said.

Rogers played in Dakota Marker games when the rivalry trophy was in its early stages as it was introduced in 2004. He said winning the three-foot tall 78-pound rock means a lot to his players because they’re representing the state of South Dakota, but also chasing the excellence that NDSU has established in the FCS over the past decade-plus.

“I think [this rivalry] means a lot because of what NDSU has done over the past 20 years. … I think there’s a certain level of pride playing against one another because they set the standard of winning championships and we can’t take that away from them. We’ve been chasing them for years, and we’re still chasing them. I think there’s a certain level of pride representing your home state and winning anything, honestly. It’s being the best and they’ve been put on the pedestal of being the best and we need to beat them,” Rogers said.

Kickoff between SDSU and NDSU is set for 2 p.m. You can watch the game on ESPN+ and Midco Sports and listen to the game on AM 910 KJJQ.