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For college football fans, this is the weekend we wait for all year long. Week #8 brings the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits to the Dakota Dome in Vermillion to face the South Dakota Coyotes for bragging rights in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

#1/1 South Dakota State (7-0, 4-0) at #4/9 South Dakota (6-1, 4-0)

The sold-out game-winner will be alone in first place atop the MVFC standings with three games to go.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE YOTES

South Dakota’s No. 4 ranking matches its highest at the FCS level (2017). A win Saturday would equal the program’s longest winning streak since 2005. The Coyotes are led by a defense that ranks second in the FCS behind SDSU among scholarship teams.

The offense has seen three different 100-yard rushers led by Travis Theis, the ninth-leading rusher in program history. QB Aidan Bouman heads an efficient unit that has turned it over just twice all season. WR Carter Bell is the fourth-leading receiver in the Valley. TE JJ Galbreath has 287 yards and 4 TDs. K Will Leyland hasn’t missed all season.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE JACKS

SDSU ran its overall winning streak to 21 games with a hard-fought 17-10 victory Oct. 21 at No. 12 Southern Illinois.

South Dakota State has held a huge advantage coming out of the locker room at halftime by outscoring the opposition by a 59-7 margin in the third quarter of games so far this season.

Since the calendar flipped to October, the SDSU defense has improved dramatically to force nine turnovers — six fumbles and three interceptions — and has tallied nine sacks in wins over Illinois State, Northern Iowa, and Southern Illinois.

Kickoff in the DakotaDome between the Jackrabbits and Coyotes is 1:00 PM.