← Matchups

South Dakota State

· 2-1 · power +5.6 · #114
Our numberUND -10.7 no book has priced this game

North Dakota

· 3-0 · power +12.7 · #70
Our side
MoneylineUND to win ours 75%
Projected score 26–37 SDST – UND
2026-10-17 · 2:00 PM Alerus Center · Grand Forks, ND Conference game Indoors Early season

The books

No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.

Series South Dakota State lead 7–1 · 8 meetings since 2010
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game edge North Dakota Fighting Hawks 81 ranks
South Dakota State Jackrabbits #107 rush offense North Dakota Fighting Hawks #26 run defense
Pass game edge North Dakota Fighting Hawks 59 ranks
South Dakota State Jackrabbits #111 pass offense North Dakota Fighting Hawks #52 pass defense
Run game edge South Dakota State Jackrabbits 90 ranks
North Dakota Fighting Hawks #120 rush offense South Dakota State Jackrabbits #30 run defense
Pass game even 20 ranks apart
North Dakota Fighting Hawks #73 pass offense South Dakota State Jackrabbits #93 pass defense
South Dakota State Jackrabbits Run-heavy · 60% run Avg pace North Dakota Fighting Hawks Run-heavy · 60% run Avg pace Dual-threat QB · 43 rush ypg

Ranked by team-unit strength (rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265 D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the 2025 season.

The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above

Who carried each team in 2025
South Dakota State Jackrabbits
K Tristan Alvano 6 FG · 17 XP · 35 pts #4 K
P Max Pelham 10 punts · 47.9 yd avg #3 P
TE Greyton Gannon 5 rec · 81 yds · 2 TD #36 TE
WR Grahm Goering 13 rec · 254 yds #127 WR
North Dakota Fighting Hawks
P Luke Silvernale 5 punts · 49.8 yd avg #2 P
WR Korey Tai 12 rec · 274 yds · 4 TD #30 WR
DB Jonnie Wiltshire 9 tkl · 2 PD · 1 INT #89 DB
DL Brody Thornton 8 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 4.0 TFL #114 DL

Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no 2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.

Power breakdown
TeamPowerOffDefRank
South Dakota State Jackrabbits +5.6 +5.7 -0.1 #114
North Dakota Fighting Hawks +12.7 +10.8 +1.9 #70

Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).

Where the number comes from
South Dakota State offense vs North Dakota defense+3.8 pts
North Dakota offense vs South Dakota State defense+10.9 pts
Efficiency adjustment · EPA, success rate, explosiveness+0.5 pts
Power projection before adjustment+10.2
Rest · context onlyAway team on 7 more days rest

The projection carries an efficiency adjustment — a residual from season-to-date EPA, success rate and explosiveness, which earned its place by walk-forward test (margin error 12.90 → 12.72 across seven held-out seasons).

Situational spots are shown for context, not baked in: travel, altitude and rest were tested against 6,000+ games and the power and efficiency ratings already account for them. Adding them again would double-count.