DEFEATED

After going 8-0 for the season (still ongoing), NDSU's Football program finally received an upset against South Dakota State University Jackrabbits on November 6, 2021. Not only was this the only event to happen, but a moose surprisingly ran onto the field pre-game as well as having this game be an official Dakota Marker. The Dakota Marker is the trophy awarded to the winner of the annual football game played between the rival Division I Championship. Honestly for NDSU fans, the moose running onto the field was the best thing to happen throughout the day. In the first half SDSU led 21-7 against the Bison which caused them to also try to change things up and make it a little bit easier for NDSU to score in the second half. As we predicted NDSU almost made a comeback but with SDSU's strong offense and defense they just weren't capable to pull of a win and ended up with a final score of 27-19.

In a game with 2 quality teams, the deciding factor, in the end, was turnovers. NDSU had 2 costly turnovers which changed the momentum of the team throughout the game. Not only are turnovers crucial, but they also caused extra points which helped the Jackrabbits pull off the win. Although the game was in Brookings, the fans for SDSU also played another factor that took part during the game. Because of an away game, NDSU had less fans cheering them on for support and couldn't help build up the grit and strength that the Bison needed to regain hope. Although NDSU just struggled with a loss and are now 8-1, they will be facing the Youngstown State Penguins on November 13th and the University of South Dakota Coyotes on November 20th.

Dakota Marker (Symbolizes rivalry game for NDSU vs. SDSU)

Although NDSU was defeated, here are some of the stats. For passing yards Cam Miller (NDSU) faced Chris Oladokun (SDSU) individually and went 15-22 for 218 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception while Chris only went 13-22 for 157 yards. On rushing yards, Cam Miller then faced Pierre Strong JR. (SDSU) and had 13 carries for 59 yards whilst Pierre had 23 carries for 156 yards with 2 touchdowns. Then for NDSU on receiving yards, Christian Watson faced Jaxon Janke (SDSU). Christian's stats conceived of 3 receptions for 82 yards while Jaxon had 6 receptions for 118 yards. If you were to compare Christian's stats to Jaxon's, Christians yards/reception is 27.33 yards/reception while on the other hand, Jaxon's was only 19.67 yards/reception.

North Dakota State's Zach Mathis is tackled by multiple South Dakota State players in the annual Dakota Marker game on Saturday, November 6, 2021 at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings.