Bison Dominate Jackrabbits in Dakota Marker Rivalry Tilt

The top-ranked NDSU Bison came to play Saturday night, and ended up proving themselves to be the top team in the country.

The atmosphere was electric, tailgates were packed, and one of the great college football rivalries our country has to offer got underway on Saturday night in Brookings.

The Jackrabbits ultimately fell in the game 38-7, suffering their first loss of the season while playing without starting Quarterback Chase Mason.

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Per GoJacks.com:

North Dakota State quarterback Cole Payton rushed for four touchdowns and racked up 380 yards of total offense to lead the top-ranked Bison to a 38-7 victory over South Dakota State in the annual Dakota Marker game before a Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium record crowd of 19,477 Saturday night.

In retaining the Dakota Marker, NDSU improved to 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The second-ranked Jackrabbits suffered their first loss of the season, falling to 7-1 overall and 3-1 in league play. The loss also snapped SDSU's 33-game home winning streak that dated back to the 2021 season.

Playing without starting quarterback Chase Mason, who was injured last week at Murray State, SDSU was held without a first down until early in the second quarter. All three Jackrabbit drives of the opening stanza resulted in three-and-outs and a total of two yards.

The Bison, meanwhile, clicked on all cylinders throughout the first 20 minutes of the game as they scored touchdowns on each of their first three possessions. NDSU strung together a 16-play, 84-yard drive that consumed nine minutes the first time it held the ball, ending the march with 1-yard touchdown run by Payton.

Payton would score from 2 yards out  with 16 seconds remaining in the first quarter and Bariku Kpeenu added a 2-yard touchdown run to complete a seven-play, 68-yard drive early in the second quarter to push the lead to 21-7.

After the Jackrabbit defense came up with its first stop of the night, SDSU turned a short field after a Bison punt into the wind into its only points of the night. The Jackrabbits turned to some trickery on the first play of the drive as wide receiver Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda threw a pass on an end-around to Lofton O'Groske on the right-side numbers for 26 yards. On the next play, quarterback Luke Marble tossed a pass to the other side of the field for a 17-yard touchdown pass.

SDSU's attempt to seize more of the momentum was thwarted, however, when Payton completed a pass to Bryce Lance for 10 yards on third-and-8, then rambled 57 yards down the left side for his third touchdown of the night.

A 43-yard field goal by Eli Ozick with a couple seconds remaining in the first half upped the NDSU lead to 31-7.

After a scoreless third quarter that included SDSU's Koby Bretz picking off a Payton pass at the goal line, Payton put the finishing touches on the night with a 47-yard touchdown run. He ended the game 18-of-23 passing for 243 yards and an additional 137 yards on 17 carries.

NDSU finished with a 500-166 advantage in total offense and accumulated 38 minutes in possession time. Lance recorded game highs on the receiving side with five catches for 103 yards.

Marble finished his first career start by completing 7-of-16 passes for 89 yards. Julius Loughridge tallied 38 rushing yards on 10 carries.

Cullen McShane registered a game-high 11 tackles for SDSU, followed by Jalen B. Lee and Kobe Clayborne each with career highs of nine stops.

For NDSU, Donovan Woolen paced the defensive effort with nine tackles.

UP NEXT
South Dakota State closes out a two-game homestand Nov. 1 by hosting Indiana State. Kickoff for the Military Appreciation game is set for 2 p.m.

Source: GoJacks.com