Youngstown State at South Dakota State
South Dakota State (2‑1) hosts Youngstown State (2‑1). Too early for a market line, but the model likes South Dakota State (79%).
How they got here
Last three games
Youngstown State · 2-1
Picked #147 in the preseason · now #146 — about right.
2-1 in its last three — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.
W 70–13 vs Duquesne #206 of 669
won by 57 as a 22.5-point favorite
L 13–45 @ Kentucky #100 of 669
lost by 32 as a 22.5-point underdog
W 43–10 vs Mercyhurst #229 of 669
won by 33 as a 30.5-point favorite
Last three games
South Dakota State · 2-1
Picked #105 in the preseason · now #101 — about right.
2-1 in its last three — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.
W 57–14 vs New Haven #258 of 669
won by 43 as a 42.5-point favorite
L 18–34 @ Northwestern #14 of 669
lost by 16 as a 14-point underdog
W 70–7 vs Stetson #256 of 669
won by 63 as a 50.5-point favorite
What’s at stake
Youngstown State
- Youngstown State needs 5 more wins in the final 7 to reach bowl eligibility.
- Youngstown State is coming off a 57-point win.
South Dakota State
- South Dakota State needs 5 more wins in the final 8 to reach bowl eligibility.
- South Dakota State is coming off a 43-point win.
The series
South Dakota State leads the series 14-3
17 meetings since 2007 · South Dakota State has won the last 6
- 2025South Dakota State 35–30
- 2024South Dakota State 63–13
- 2023South Dakota State 34–0
- 2021South Dakota State 47–16
- 2019South Dakota State 38–28
Face-off
What each fanbase carries into this one.
Youngstown State
The chipYoungstown State doesn't carry a visible chip. The program is at peace with its place in FCS history: the keeper of the Tressel legacy, a solid regional program, a place where Beau Brungard can win the Walter Payton Award in 2025 and not feel the weight of unmet national aspirations.
South Dakota State
The chipThe chip is that SDSU won its first national championship and proved it could repeat it, but the moment of proof is colliding with realignment forces that scatter the competitive landscape.
What this game touches
The end of the Dakota Marker rivalry — almost certainly when NDSU joins the Mountain West. South Dakota State and North Dakota State played for the Dakota Marker from 2004 through 2025. NDSU won the last game 38-7 on October 25, 2025. When NDSU leaves for the FBS in 2026, the annual conference date ends, and with it the rivalry as a protected fixture. The wound is not that SDSU failed to retain NDSU as a rival — it is that the program's primary identity anchor is disappearing by forces outside its control.
Conditions
72°F · 5 mph wind
South Dakota State is worth +6.3 points (±9.1) more at home than on the road since 2018 — top third of FBS, 83rd percentile.
75% at home, 47% on the road against FBS opponents (6–2 home, 7–8 away).
Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads -0.0 at home vs. away over 53 games — inside the ±7.5 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.
Night kickoff — historically worth about half a point more to the home side against the number, and not much more than that. The visitors travel about 847 miles to get here.
Recent games
South Dakota State
- Wk 1Wvs Stetson70-7
- Wk 1Lat Northwestern18-34
- Wk 2Wvs New Haven57-14
Youngstown State
- Wk 1Wvs Mercyhurst43-10
- Wk 1Lat Kentucky13-45
- Wk 2Wvs Duquesne70-13