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football matchup. The Dakota Marker, a replica of the quartzite monuments that used to mark the border between North and South Dakota, has turned out to be a tough trophy. NDSU has won it five times, SDSU on four occasions.
• Justin Sell, the SDSU athletic director, calls it one of the "coolest rivalries" he's been a part of because the schools have many similarities.
• "We are partners. And when we're not playing, we're good friends," Sell said.
• The playoff game Saturday comes three weeks after NDSU held off visiting SDSU 20-17 in a game that ultimately decided the Missouri Valley Football League championship. While the Bison were enjoying a bye last week in the first round of playoffs, SDSU opened the postseason by whipping Eastern Illinois 58-10.
• "Everyone says it's tough to beat a team twice," said NDSU offensive lineman Billy Taylor. "To play a team twice in the same year, especially within three weeks, is crazy, but hopefully it's a challenge we'll be able to overcome."
• Most believe the matchup boils down to NDSU's defense on SDSU running back Zach Zenner. NDSU leads the FCS in total defense (196 yards allowed per game), passing defense (129), rushing defense (67), and scoring defense (11.82 points per game).
• Zenner leads the FCS in rushing with an average of more than 166 yards per outing.
• "It starts with their running game and it starts with Zenner," Bison linebacker Grant Olson said. "So if we can shut that down, that will give us the best chance to win."
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• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- Members of the congressional delegations from the Dakotas, Kansas and Montana are urging President Barack Obama to deny requests to aid Mississippi River navigation by authorizing additional water releases from Missouri River dams.
• South Dakota Sen. John Thune says the group sent a letter Friday to Obama, Assistant Secretary of the Army Jo-Ellen Darcy and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate. The letter was signed by members of Congress from the four states as well as by the governors of North Dakota, South Dakota and Kansas.
• Lawmakers from Mississippi River states want more water releases from the Missouri River dams to help barge traffic. Thune and his group say that would harm people and businesses in their states.

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