It's a day South Dakota State University and University of South Dakota fans have waited nearly ten years for: The Jackrabbits and Coyotes Football teams go head-to-head this weekend in Brookings.
While they haven't competed on the field in nine years, anyone who's spent time in South Dakota knows the two schools have a heated rivalry. And Saturday it will get re-ignited on the gridiron.
"Think one will be a packed house," SDSU senior Bradley Schoreit said.
The stands at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium may be empty Friday. But SDSU officials expect a record crowd for this weekend's rival face off. It's been the talk around campus.
"Yeah, everyone who went down to D Days, talked about it with them, they came up, talked about how oh, USD is talking about how bad they're going to beat us and this and that. So it's been, I think, growing more and more every day," Schoreit said.
"I was getting hyped up just like anyone else when they put the billboard outside of Brookings. But then we responded back with the dead coyote. Coming into the game now, it's day four and I still feel like were going to play Vermillion High School. Hopefully they come out and bring a better team," SDSU senior Barry Davis said.
Davis says with USD's less-than-great record this season, the odds are very much in the blue team's favor.
"They're looking to beat us. If they beat us then they're going to be talking about it for years and years. If we win, it's just going to be another win for us. I mean, they're looking at going 1 and 10," Davis said.
"We go out there and try to give it our all. I mean so does USD, but they get kind of rowdy and we like to win with class. I think this is a big deal because, like Barry said, they'll be talking about this forever and for us it will just be another win," Schoreit said.
No matter whether blue or red runs in your veins, this weekend's re-ignition of the rivalry is something everyone can cheer for.
For full disclosure, I am an SDSU alumnus. While I won't say who I'll be cheering for Saturday, you can probably guess.
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