They call it “The Dakota Marker” game. 

This 75-pound traveling piece of granite is currently in the trophy case at North Dakota State University after last season’s 13-9 home victory over rival South Dakota State.  

This heated series began in 2004 when both North Dakota State and South Dakota State were admitted into the FCS football group.

The Bison maintain a slim 11-10 advantage in this series after last season’s home field triumph at the extremely noisy FargoDome.

Coach Dan Jackson’s Jackrabbits of South Dakota State win 86% of their home games, so the very heavy trophy could be returning south by late Saturday night.

This year’s battle of unbeaten 7-0 FCS titans kicks-off Saturday evening at 7PM at the Jackrabbits home stadium in Brooking, South Dakota.  The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.

All 19,430 seats at South Dakota State’s outdoor football stadium were gobbled-up months ago.  A ticket to Saturday night’s battle is currently priced at $105. That cost will keep rising this week prior to kickoff.

SDSU’s rugged defensive coach will face-off with NDSU’s creative offensive coach

South Dakota State football coach Dan Jackson played linebacker for the Jackrabbits from 2003-2005. 

The long-time defensive coordinator is in his first season at SDSU after former coach Jimmy Rodgers accepted a higher paying job at FBS Washington State.

North Dakota State’s head football coach is Tim Polasek. 

The 46-year old former college quarterback at NCAA Division III Concordia (Wisconsin) led the Bison to the 2024 national championship during his inaugural season as the team’s head coach.  He was a long-time offensive coordinator at several colleges.

This Saturday’s game is the FCS version of epic major football rivalries such as Michigan vs. Ohio State, LSU vs. Alabama, and Texas vs. Oklahoma.

Beginning in 2011, the FCS national football title has been won by either North Dakota State (10 times) or South Dakota State (twice) in the past 14 seasons. 

Only current FBS members James Madison (2016) and Sam Houston State (2020) have interrupted the two Dakota titans from winning the national championship in football.

The large college FBS usually schedules FCS teams for homecoming games or as an early season cupcake.

The FBS big boys hesitate to schedule a football game against either North Dakota State or South Dakota State!

The NDSU Bison are 9-4 all time against FBS opponents.

Road wins since 2000 have come against Ball State, Central Michigan, Minnesota (twice), Kansas, Colorado State, Kansas State, Iowa State, and Iowa. 

Little ol’ North Dakota State just can’t seem to find another FBS team which wants to play them most seasons.

Likewise, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits have posted successful road wins at FBS major college teams such as Kansas (2015) and Colorado State (2021).

These two football teams have ruined a lot of homecomings for major college football teams already in the 21^st century.

Check out these other top FCS games for this weekend!

Presbyterian (7-0) at Dayton (5-2) – 11AM Saturday on You Tube

This is a Pioneer Football League showdown between the league’s top two teams this season.  The Blue Hose of Presbyterian won last year’s match over the Dayton Flyers 28-7 at home in Clinton, SC.  The winner of Saturday morning’s game in Dayton will have the inside track to grab one of the 24 invitations into late November’s FCS playoffs.

Delaware State (4-3) at North Carolina Central (5-2) – 12 Noon Saturday on ESPN+

This battle for MEAC supremacy also has major consequences for the FCS Playoffs in November.  The Eagles of NC Central fly into this home match-up on a four game winning streak.  Delaware State’s Hornets are lighting up the scoreboard with more than 38 points per outing so far in 2025.

Grambling State (4-3) at Jackson State (5-1) – 5PM Saturday on HBCU-TV

One way or another, the Tigers will come out a winner in this always entertaining SWAC battle in Jackson on Saturday evening.  JSU’s Tigers have won four straight games and have raced to 3-0 mark in the SWAC.  Grambling’s Tigers have been inconsistent at times but have shown flashes of exceptional play, too.  The G-Men won a conference road game at UA-Pine Bluff last week and will bring plenty of enthusiastic fans over to Jackson for this annual battle.

Tarleton State is now 8-0 and continues as our #1 team again for the third consecutive week. 

Let’s take a look at this week’s SwampSwamiSports.com FCS Top 25 for the week ending Saturday, October 18, 2025:

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