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It’ll be an absolutely massive showdown in Fargo on Saturday afternoon, as rivals No. 1 North Dakota State and No. 2 South Dakota State clash in what stacks up as the biggest game in FCS football this regular season.
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The game (3:30 p.m. ET start time) will be televised locally on ABC North Dakota, but anyone in the US can watch South Dakota State vs North Dakota State live on ESPN+ right here:
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Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch South Dakota State vs North Dakota State live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com.
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SDSU vs NDSU Preview
When the South Dakota State Jackrabbits take on the North Dakota State Bison, it’s the battle of two teams that are 5-1 overall and undefeated in Missouri Valley Conference play, so it should be a real barn-burner.
This is the 113th meeting between the two schools. North Dakota State leads the all-time series 63-44-5, but South Dakota State has won the last two match-ups.
South Dakota State head coach John Stiegelmeier said in his post-game press conference after SDSU’s win over the University of South Dakota the week before, 28-3.
“Excited about the win. I do think the University of South Dakota is a very good football team and I do think they will win some football games this year. Really excited for how our defense played. I’m excited about a lot. But hte biggest thing is, I love our players. I can’t say anything stronger. They work so hard, they’re the picture of student-athletes and I think, I leanred this on the farm, you deserve success when you do that and they do that. They do it day in and day out. I’m just really proud of them, glad to get the win,” said Stiegelmeier.
“[The crowd] had an impact … I’m very honored and I appreciate our fans,” added Stiegelmeier.
He also said that the win over South Dakota definitely gave them confidence going into the North Dakota State game.
“We surely gained confidence from this game, that would be the thing that I think adds to the upcoming game. We respect North Dakota State. We embrace the rivalry, it’s one of the greatest, I think, in college football. It’s going to be 1 versus 2 in the nation, I believe, in at least one poll,” said the South Dakota State coach, adding, “We take one game at a time … we should be confident that we can play good football.”
In his own pre-game press conference, North Dakota State coach Matt Entz said that they pulled out a tough win on the road in Terre Haute, Indiana, last week against Indiana State and they’re ready for South Dakota State.
“Tough win on the road in Terra Haute. Game was full of ups and downs and unique situations. I am appreciative and excited that our players were able to find ways and manners in which to get that scoreboard corrected. There’s a lot of things tha twe need to continue to improve on … I hate using the word ‘potential,’ I just don’t think we’ve played as well as that we’re capable of right now,” said Entz, adding, “There’s been glimpses of really good football during the course of the season and then there’s been moments of poor football.”
“I think [South Dakota State is] probably the best football team in the country. You look at their resume, they’ve played better football than we have, so we gotta lot of work to do … but I think our kids will be locked in. We have to have greater forucs going into this game than we have the last couple,” said Entz.
The South Dakota State vs North Dakota State game kicks off on Saturday, October 15 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time on ABC ND and ESPN Plus.