This Saturday’s Dakota Marker football game between South Dakota State and North Dakota State in Fargo, North Dakota, has been postponed due to ongoing COVID-19 issues within the Bison program.

The game is now set to take place April 17, a date designated as a make-up week for postponed Missouri Valley games. This is now the second consecutive game both programs have had to cancel or postpone due to COVID-19.

SDSU’s game scheduled for March 27 against Illinois State got canceled when ISU decided to call off the rest of its football season. NDSU had to cancel its game last week against South Dakota because of positive COVID-19 cases.

Before the announcement was made, coach John Stiegelmeier mentioned in his weekly press conference that he had no indication that the game would be moved.

But his team has embraced every challenge thrown at them this season and is continuing to stay positive.

“Everything has changed weekly almost,” Stiegelmeier said. “Our guys have been able to accept it and come out of things in a positive way.”

Both teams are scheduled to play Saturday, April 10, with the Jackrabbits hosting USD and the Bison traveling to UNI.

Dakota Marker History

The Dakota Marker trophy was first introduced in 2004, a 75-pound model replica of the original quartzite monuments that used to mark the North Dakota-South Dakota border.

The Dakota Marker series currently stands in favor of NDSU 10-6, not including playoff games where the trophy was not at stake. Here are the winners of the previous matchups, along with the scores.

2004: South Dakota State, 24-21

2005: North Dakota State, 41-17

2006: North Dakota State, 41-28

2007: South Dakota State, 29-24

2008: South Dakota State, 25-24

2009: South Dakota State, 28-13

2010: North Dakota State, 31-24

2011: North Dakota State, 38-14

2012: North Dakota State, 20-17

2013: North Dakota State, 20-0

2014: North Dakota State, 37-17

2015: North Dakota State, 28-7

2016: South Dakota State, 19-17

2017: South Dakota State, 33-21

2018: North Dakota State, 21-17

2019: North Dakota State, 23-16