Free College Football Pick: North Dakota St vs South Dakota St

The North Dakota State Bison take on the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in the 2023 FCS National Championship. Sunday's kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET on ABC.

SDSU is the top seed and blew out Montana State 39-18 in the second semifinal game on Dec. 17. That came a day after third-seeded NDSU survived a 35-32 shootout against No. 7 Incarnate Word for its seventh consecutive win.

Sunday will mark the 114th meeting since 1903 between the rivals, with the Bison holding a 63-45-5 series lead, including each of the past three FCS playoff meetings. NDSU also boasts 11 wins over SDSU since its first FCS title in 2011.

However, it's the Jacks who have won the past three meetings overall, including a 23-31 victory during the regular season. The Bison will be trying to avoid their first four-game losing streak in the series since 1950.

Matt Entz owns a 49-6 record as NDSU's head coach, with half of those loses coming to SDSU. He has only managed to beat the Jacks once thus far, in 2019 when Entz had future first-round pick quarterback Trey Lance running the offense.

SDSU reached the FCS title game in 2021 only to lose to Sam Houston State in a season that was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The shortened season was the only time since 2011 that the Bison failed to win at least 12 games.

Less than a year later, NDSU added to its title haul with a victory over Montana State in last year's championship game. The Bison are 44-3 all-time in the FCS playoffs and have never lost in the title game, with six of their nine championship victories coming by double figures.

This is a great matchup and will be a great game to watch. If you're watching NFL, you might want to record this game and watch it later. The Bison are a bunch of beasts and it's not been wise to bet against them over the years. Neverthless, the Jackrabbits have a thorn in their side and have the tools to beat them again.