Casey Wonnenberg

After battling new rival North Dakota State for the Dakota Marker on Oct. 9 in front of a Beef Bowl record of 12,323 fans, the SDSU football team enjoyed a bye this weekend.

The rest came well-deserved after winning a hard-fought battle against NDSU 24-21 at Coughlin Alumni Stadium.

“People 50 years from now will still be talking about this game. We knew we had to work hard in practice all week. We understood how important this game was,” Joey Abell, senior lineman, said.

“I just knew I don’t get in the game often. If I get the ball, I have to make a play,” Molitor said.

“I don’t know the magnitude of this win,” SDSU head coach John Stiegelmeier said. “All I know is that it was a great win.”

The Jacks return to action Oct. 23 at Montana State. This will be the 12th meeting of the two teams.

Montana has won the Big Sky Conference championship the last two years and has an excellent quarterback according to Stiegelmeier.

“Their quarterback is a tremendous play maker and by far their best player,” Steigelmeier said. “We’re changing our coverage on him so we can contain him.”

Also a threat to an SDSU victory is Montana’s great defense.

Stiegelmeier is very happy with the team’s progress.

“I’d prefer to be 6-0, but you can’t live in the past. We’ve gotten better every week since the beginning of the season,” Stiegelmeier said.

The Hobo Day game against Augustana on Nov. 6 will be the Jacks’ next and final home game.