South Dakota State’s 32-game win streak against FCS opponents ended Saturday after the Jacks fell to North Dakota State late in Fargo, 13-9.

With the loss, the Jacks also give up the Dakota Marker for the first time since 2019, which was a 23-16 loss in Brookings.

“It was a tough football game,” said SDSU head coach Jimmy Rogers in a postgame interview with Tyler Merriam on the Jackrabbit Sports Network. “Had an opportunity to do what we came here to do we just didn’t execute at certain times,”

But the 21^st rendition of the Marker rivalry certainly lived up to the hype, full of emotions, intensity and many penalties.

The Jacks had numerous miscues throughout the game, including an opening drive missed field goal by kicker Hunter Dustman after an attempted quarterback sneak was flagged for a false start, the first of many missed opportunities for the Jacks to get points.

“Penalties killed us, and we didn’t respond the right way,” Rogers said.

The ruckus crowd of over 18,000 inside the Fargodome helped force three first-half false start penalties, which were only the beginning of the Jacks’ struggles with laundry throughout the game. The Jacks totaled 10 penalties for 89 yards.

Despite facing a top-ranked defense on the road in a hostile environment, the first half of No. 1 versus No. 2 was won by the Yellow and Blue.

NDSU reached Jackrabbit territory on back-to-back drives to start the second quarter but were only able to amass seven points on an 18-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cam Miller to receiver RaJa Nelson.

Miller completed 20-of-27 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns while adding 24 yards on the ground in the win.

Immediately following the Bison touchdown, the Jacks responded with a 66-yard rushing touchdown by backup quarterback Chase Mason. The Bison would maintain the lead, however, after blocking the extra point.

“It was a huge play. it was unfortunate that it had to end the way it ended,” said Rogers on the touchdown, which preceded multiple unsportsmanlike penalties by both teams after the play.

Mason was effective in the run game yet again after his breakout performance last week in the win over Youngstown State, tallying 80 yards and a touchdown on five carries this week.

The Jackrabbit defense, who allowed just 275 total yards in the loss, forced an NDSU punt on the ensuing possession that led to the second and final scoring drive of the game for the Jacks.

Gronwoski and company commanded a 15-play, 65-yard drive, ending with a 42-yard redemption field goal for Dustman to give the Jacks a 9-7 lead going into halftime.

SDSU totaled over 200 yards in the first half, including 145 on the ground. All things considered, it was about the best possible scenario to have, especially with the Bison receiving the ball to start the third quarter.

But this time it was NDSU who would miss a field goal to start a half, as kicker Griffin Crosa booted a 48-yarder well short of the uprights.

From that point on, the game became stagnant with both defenses locking down the opposition and forcing 7 consecutive punts.

In the closing moments of the game, like many prior Dakota Marker games, it came down to which team was going to make just one more play and this time that team was the Bison.

Miller, a front-runner for the Walter Payton Award, connected with Nelson again on a 20-yard touchdown on the biggest drive to that point. The two-point try was unsuccessful, but the lead was recaptured with just under two minutes to play.

Nelson was the Achilles’ heel for the Jacks defensively, catching four passes for 48 yards and two touchdowns in the win.

One thing of note regarding the Jacks’ five-game winning streak over the Bison is the turnover battle. The Bison had not forced a Jackrabbit turnover since their previous victory in 2019. That streak was broken on the final SDSU drive.

“[We] had an opportunity at the end, it just didn’t go our way,” coach Rogers said.

Bison linebacker Logan Kopp made a leaping snag in front of a Gronowski throw, forcing a turnover and ending the heavyweight bout in Fargo.

“Respond and learn from it. We’ll see them in December,” said Rogers in the postgame message to the locker room.

Gronowski completed 17-of-29 pass attempts for just 118 yards and an interception while rushing 13 times for 77 yards as well.

Amar Johnson and Angel Johnson were especially limited by the Bison front seven, combining for 58 yards on 18 carries.

Griffin Wilde and Angel Johnson each caught four passes for 25 and 24 yards, respectively, while Davin Stoffel and Grahm Goering each had two catches for 27 and 26 yards, respectively.

Linebacker Grahm Spalding led the defense with 10 tackles, while safety Colby Huerter added eight. Adam Bock played lights out at his linebacker spot as well, tallying five tackles (one tackle for loss), one sack and one quarterback hit.

“Defensively, we played well enough I feel like. Holding this team to 13 points,” Rogers said. “I don’t know the last time when we did that is. But we’re not going to just sit on this loss. We got to get ready to improve and move on.”

Up Next

The Jacks will look to rebound next week as it takes on another rival, the South Dakota Coyotes. Kickoff from a sold-out Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. and can be watched on ESPNU or listened to on the Jackrabbit Sports Network.