State Bragging Rights on the Line Saturday in Brookings
October 29, 2026
BROOKINGS, S.D.–State bragging rights and the chance to remain at the top of the Missouri Valley Football Conference standings will be on the line Saturday afternoon when South Dakota State hosts the University of South Dakota in the annual Interstate Series game.
Kickoff before a capacity crowd at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium is slated for 3 p.m. The game featuring two teams in the top six of the Football Championship Subdivision rankings will be televised nationally on ESPNU and the ESPN+ streaming platform.
Fifth-ranked South Dakota State enters Saturday’s contest with a 6-2 overall record and a 3-1 mark in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. After being knocked out of the top spot in the FCS polls with a loss Oct. 17 at North Dakota, the Jackrabbits rebounded with a 42-9 Hobo Day victory over Murray State last week.
South Dakota, meanwhile, holds a 7-2 overall record and a 4-1 mark in league play. The sixth-ranked Coyotes withstood a late charge from North Dakota last week to pull out a 26-23 overtime victory on their home field at the DakotaDome in Vermillion.
SDSU and USD are joined by Youngstown State with one loss thus far in MVFC play.
THE SERIES: According to SDSU records, Saturday’s game will mark the 119th all-time meeting between the Jackrabbits and Coyotes on the gridiron. The series dates back to a 6-6 tie back in 1889, in a game that was played in Sioux Falls.
Overall, the Jackrabbits hold a 58-53-7 advantage in the series.
The two programs were longstanding members of the North Central Conference and often played season home-and-home series during their days competing at the NCAA Division II level.
After a nine-year hiatus as the institutions made their moves to Division I competition on separate timetables, the series resumed in 2012, when USD gained entry into the Missouri Valley Football Conference. SDSU has won 10 of the 13 meetings during the Division I era, including all six matchups played in Brookings.
USD ended a three-game winning streak in the series by the Jackrabbits with a 24-17 victory on Nov. 8, 2025, in the DakotaDome. L.J. Phillips’ 32-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter held up as the winning score.
Last season’s contest marked the seventh time in the 13 meetings since the series restarted at the Division I level that the game was decided by one score.
INTERSTATE SERIES: The all-sports rivalry series between South Dakota’s two Division I athletic programs entered a new phase in September 2023 with First Interstate Bank taking over as presenting sponsor of the competition between South Dakota State University and the University of South Dakota.
The Interstate Series uses the same points system first established during the rivalry series’ inaugural 2012-13 athletics season, which features both athletic and academic components. On the athletics side, a total of 21 points will be up for grabs in 16 sports. Points will be awarded to winners of regular season matchups in football, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s soccer, volleyball and softball, while the team with the higher finish in Summit League postseason events in cross country, track and field, golf, and swimming and diving will earn points in those respective sports.
Two points are awarded to the winner of the football game, with the victor of that game also holding the tie-breaker should points be equal at the end of the year.
SDSU won the Interstate Series three seasons in a row before USD claimed the title during the 2025-26 athletics season. Overall, the Jackrabbits lead the series by an 8-6 count and again hold a 2.5-1.5 advantage early in the 2026-27 series standings.
The Interstate Rivalry is managed by Learfield Sports and its respective Jackrabbit Sports Properties and Coyote Sports Properties divisions. First Interstate is a community bank with more than 300 branches across 14 states, including branches in more than 20 cities in South Dakota.
RANKINGS STREAK: South Dakota State has held a top-five ranking in all 10 Football Championship Subdivision polls conducted thus far during the 2026 season.
The Jackrabbits began the season at No. 3 in the Stats Perform media poll and held the No. 2 spot for five weeks before ascending to No. 1 in early October.
SDSU was ranked first for two weeks before falling to No. 5 after an Oct. 17 loss at North Dakota. The Jackrabbits have now appeared in the top 25 of 199 consecutive Stats Perform polls dating back to October 2012.
The Jacks previously held the top spot in 29 consecutive polls from Oct. 17, 2022, until relinquishing the top spot following their regular season loss at North Dakota State on Oct. 19, 2024.
