Getty Head coach Bubba Schweigert of the North Dakota Fighting Hawks looks on in the first half of their 37-16 loss to the Utah Utes at Rice-Eccles Stadium on August 31, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)
The South Dakota State Jackrabbits (6-1, 4-0 Missouri Valley Conference) head to the Alerus Center on October 22 to take on the North Dakota Fighting Hawks (4-2, 3-1 in MVC).
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The game (4 p.m. ET start time) won’t be on TV, but anyone in the US can watch South Dakota State vs North Dakota live on ESPN+ right here:
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South Dakota State vs North Dakota Preview
After taking down perennial powerhouse North Dakota State last weekend, the Jackrabbits are the new No. 1 team in the FCS. South Dakota State beat NDSU, 23-21 on October 15, largely on the strength of their running game.
Jackrabbits running back Isaiah Davis rushed for 114 yards and a score, while Amar Johnson added 89 yards and a TD on 12 carries.
This week, SDSU will be getting playmaking tight end Tucker Kraft back after he missed six weeks due to a foot injury.
“Most people would say he’s our best football player,” South Dakota State coach John Stiegelmeier said of Kraft. “He gives us three tight ends to put on the field, which we wanted to do a bunch until we lost him in the Iowa game. If he’s full-speed, a safety would have to cover him down the field, and that’s a tough task.”
The Jackrabbits are scoring 26.4 points a game on offense while averaging 171.1 yards per game on the ground, which is third in the Missouri Valley Conference. South Dakota State has the best defense in the conference, allowing 13.4 points a game.
“We’re really excited about the opportunity in front of us,” UND coach Bubba Schweigert said. “We’ve worked hard to put ourselves in a position to make it a big game for us, also. We want to be paying in big games in our program.”
North Dakota is scoring over 28 points a game on offense, and they have a well balanced attack, averaging 133.3 yards on the ground and 238.8 yards through the air per contest. Defensively is where the team has hit a few snags.
The Fighting Hawks are allowing 30.7 points per game on defense, and they’ll need to buckle down against a new No. 1 who isn’t about to sleep on anyone.
“(It’s) nice because we worked hard to get there,” South Dakota State guard Mason McCormick said about being at the top. “But it won’t mean too much to be No. 1 for one week and then go up to Grand Forks and lose.”
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