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The stakes couldn't be much higher when South Dakota State University renews its longstanding rivalry with North Dakota State in Fargo on Saturday.
The Jackrabbits play the Bison in round two of the Division One football playoffs, in what will be the 100th time the two teams have met on the field. Plenty of fans on the Brookings campus are excited about the game, even if most won't be able to see it in-person.
The 500 playoff tickets allotted to SDSU were sold out in a half-hour.
"It tells me there's tremendous interest in the game locally and people want to be at this game, they want to make it a point that they attended the NDSU-SDSU game," SDSU Senior Associate Athletic Director Rob Peterson said.
SDSU students who weren't able to score a much-coveted ticket, will be able to watch the game on a big screen set up at Frost Arena with kickoff an hour before the SDSU women's basketball game.
"I'm definitely going to be at Frost Arena, I'm going to be helping out over there and then I'm also checking the game out cheering on the football team and the basketball team so that will be fun," SDSU freshman Tiffany Filipovich said.
The football team will be leaving behind plenty of rabid Jackrabbit fans here on the Brookings campus. But come Saturday, they'll be cheering loudly, and long-distance.
"It's definitely a big rivalry but we're going to get the win, I have faith that we're going to get the 'W," SDSU junior Stacey Guijarro said.
Jackrabbit fans are hoping to avenge a loss to NDSU in the conference title game just three weeks ago. But Jackrabbit players leave for Fargo as underdogs to the top-ranked team in the country. But they can count on support from loyal fans who are second to none.
SDSU has already put in a bid to host next weekend's quarter-final playoff game. But first, of course, the Jackrabbits will have to win Saturday's game in Fargo.
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