For the 70th time in MVFC history, three league teams are ranked in the Top 10 in the same poll as North Dakota State (1), South Dakota State (3) and Illinois State (9) represent the league in the STATS FCS rankings.

Among conferences, the MVFC is the top-rated league in the FCS (Sagarin Rankings), and also ranks ahead of a number of FBS leagues, including the MAC (East Division), Conference USA (both the East and West divisions), and the Sun Belt (West Division).

NDSU and SDSU meet Saturday in the 15th annual Dakota Marker game, which was established in 2004 when the Bison and Jackrabbits began Division I competition.