FARGO -- The South Dakota State Jackrabbits hope to knock off three-time defending national champion North Dakota State at 2:30 p.m. today in Fargo, N.D.
The second-round Football Championship Subdivision playoff game will be streamed on ESPN3. SDSU is coming off a 47-40 win over Montana State in the first round of the playoffs, while NDSU was on a bye.
In the regular season matchup between the Missouri Valley Football Conference rivals, the Bison defeated SDSU 37-17.
The Jackrabbits will need to rely heavily on senior running back Zach Zenner, who accounted for 324 all-purpose yards and a career-high five touchdowns against the Bobcats a week ago. Zenner needs 144 rushing yards to surpass Georgia Southern's Adrian Peterson's all-time FCS rushing record of 6,559 yards.
Meanwhile, SDSU (9-4) quarterback Austin Sumner hopes to continue his aerial assault since returning from injury. The senior signal caller threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns in the playoff win against Montana State.
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On defense, North Dakota State (11-1) counters with Carlton Littlejohn, who recorded a team-high 81 tackles. Littlejohn, who has six tackles for a loss in 2014, hopes to limit Zenner and the SDSU rushing attack.
When the Bison have the football, SDSU will have to key on running back John Crockett, who has 1,425 yards and 15 rushing touchdowns on the season. When NDSU airs it out, the Bison will turn to quarterback Carson Wentz, who has thrown for 2,287 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2014.
The task of stopping Crockett may be in the hands of T.J. Lally, who led SDSU with 103 total tackles, including 9.5 for a loss.
