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The South Dakota State Jackrabbits and North Dakota Fighting Hawks are renewing their rivalry on Saturday. Both teams are ranked in the top-15 with North Dakota being ranked 14th and South Dakota State ranked 3rd. This will be the first conference meeting between the two teams since 2003.
North Dakota Fighting Hawks are coming off a big victory over number 24 Southern Illinois. The Jackrabbits are coming off a big win over Northern Iowa in their first game. This top-15 meeting between South Dakota State and North Dakota is going to be one for the ages.
South Dakota State Jackrabbits vs North Dakota Fighting Hawks Head-to-Head | FCS Football
This will be the third meeting between North Dakota and South Dakota State since they both joined Division I. This will also be the first conference meeting between the teams since 2003. In the last meeting, the Fighting Hawks came back and defeated South Dakota State 25-24.
This will be the 86th all-time meeting between the two schools. The North Dakota Fighting Hawks own the overall head-to-head lead (46-35-5). North Dakota has only lost once at home to the South Dakota State Jackrabbits since 1989.
South Dakota State Jackrabbits vs North Dakota Fighting Hawks Team News | FCS Football
North Dakota Fighting Hawks:
The North Dakota Fighting Hawks are led by veteran coach Bubba Schweigert. Schweigert has been coaching at North Dakota for 21 years but has only been the head coach for seven years. North Dakota returned to their winning ways during the 2019 season and found themselves back in the FCS playoffs.
The Fighting Hawks finished 2019 with a perfect record of (6-0) at home winning three games against ranked opponents. North Dakota's 2019 schedule was one of the toughest in the FCS. Their schedule consisted of seven ranked opponents over 12 weeks.
South Dakota State Jackrabbits:
The South Dakota State Jackrabbits are coming off a season opener win over Northern Iowa. Their true freshman quarterback Mark Gronowski will be making his second start of his career. Gronowski led the game winning drive against Northern Iowa.
The Jackrabbits are also returning with their all conference running back Pierre Strong. Strong scored the game winning touchdown against Northern Iowa on a 31-yard touchdown pass. He has also recorded back-to-back seasons with 1,000 yards rushing.
South Dakota State Jackrabbits vs North Dakota Fighting Hawks Projected Starters | FCS Football
South Dakota Jackrabbits:
QB: Mark Gronowski
RB: Pierre Strong
WR: Jaxon Janke, Jadon Janke, Canyon Bauer
TE: Zach Heins
North Dakota Fighting Hawks:
QB: Tommy Schuster
RB: Otis Weah
WR: Bo Belquist, Jake Richter, Garrett Maag
TE: Derek Paulson
South Dakota State Jackrabbits vs North Dakota Fighting Hawks Prediction | FCS Football
The game between the South Dakota State Jackrabbits and North Dakots Fighting Hawks could go either way. South Dakota State has won two out of the three games since both teams joined Division 1. On the other hand North Dakota has won four straight games against ranked opponents.
Both teams could walk away with this game and it's a huge top-15 matchup that will have a ton of fireworks. The Fighting Hawks may lead the overall head-to-head with the Jackrabbits, but South Dakota State has more talent returning on both sides of the football.
This game will come down to who wants it more and which defense can stand their ground late in the fourth quarter. With North Dakota dominating the head-to-head at home. They have to be the favorites to win this game but it will be extremely close.
Prediction: North Dakota 34, South Dakota State 31
