BROOKINGS, S.D. -- When Scott Peterman, a South Carolina season-ticket holder, examined the Oct. 25 football schedule, he realized he had two options: He could stay at home and watch his Gamecocks play Alabama. Or he could travel 1,300 miles to the fourth-largest town in South Dakota to watch some FCS football.
But this wasn't just any FCS game. It was No. 1 North Dakota State vs. No. 2 South Dakota State. The Bison vs. the Jackrabbits for the Dakota Marker, the arena where champions are forged. So Peterman, obviously, decided to make the pilgrimage.