The Mercer Bears’ playoff journey came to an end in 2023 with a tough loss to the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in the second round. Can they rewrite the script this year against another Missouri Valley Football Conference powerhouse, the North Dakota State Bison?

Our Mercer vs. North Dakota State prediction dives deep into everything you need to know — from the latest betting odds to what’s on the line for both teams as they battle in the FCS quarterfinals.

Mercer vs. North Dakota State FCS Quarterfinals Betting Preview

All Mercer vs. North Dakota State odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook and are correct as of Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. 

• Spread
  North Dakota State -22.5
• Moneyline
  North Dakota State -2400, Mercer +1074
• Over/Under
  55 points
• Game Time
  3:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, Dec. 14
• Location
  Fargodome | Fargo, N. Dak.
• Predicted Weather at Kick
  24 degrees, 8 mph winds, cloudy
• How To Watch
  ABC/ESPN+

Mercer is 1-1 as an underdog this year, failing to cover the 42-point spread against the Alabama Crimson Tide just a few weeks ago.

However, the program is 4-1 against the spread on the road entering their matchup in Fargo.

MORE: CFN Betting Parlay Calculator

That’s especially notable considering North Dakota State is just 2-5 ATS as 20+ point favorites this year.

As far as the total, these teams are riding opposite trends:

• The under has hit in three of the Bears’ last five games.
• The over has cashed in four of the Bison’s last five.

Prediction for Mercer vs. North Dakota State

NDSU head coach Tim Polasek addressed his team’s slow starts in recent games during a press conference this week, and his response should fire up both players and fans alike.

“I think we’re looking ahead. Like it’s not big enough for us. It’s not big enough for anybody just to be in a quarterfinal game … or the second round of the playoffs. It is damn big enough. It is. And that’s gotta be the main focus. It’s the Super Bowl this weekend. And it’s Mercer, and we’re zeroed in.”

MORE: Simulate the College Football Playoffs With CFN’s College Football Playoff Predictor

The Bison have reached the quarterfinals 15 straight seasons—this is where they expect to be.

Mercer, on the other hand, is making its first-ever appearance in the FCS quarterfinals.

There’s a clear gap in experience, and NDSU will prove as much on Saturday.

The Bears’ No. 1-ranked run defense (66.0 yards per game) might challenge the Bison, but QB Cam Miller has shown he can air it out. His 73.7% completion rate, 2,614 passing yards, 26 TDs, and just two INTs this season speak for themselves.

On the other side, Mercer’s offense will rely on freshman QB Whitt Newbauer. While the 6’6” rookie has stepped up admirably for D.J. Smith, he’ll face an uphill battle against a seasoned NDSU defense. Add in Mercer’s ground-heavy offense—something the Bison are built to counter coming from the MVFC—and it’s hard to see the Bears breaking through.

Take NDSU to win and cover in a relatively low-scoring contest.

Prediction: North Dakota State 31, Mercer 13

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Associated Press

Wyoming Cowgirls (4-5) at South Dakota Coyotes (4-7)

Vermillion, South Dakota; Sunday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: South Dakota will try to keep its four-game home win streak alive when the Coyotes take on Wyoming.

The Coyotes have gone 3-2 at home. South Dakota is fifth in the Summit scoring 70.6 points while shooting 41.6% from the field.

The Cowgirls are 0-3 on the road. Wyoming is 2-4 against opponents with a winning record.

South Dakota is shooting 41.6% from the field this season, 1.5 percentage points higher than the 40.1% Wyoming allows to opponents. Wyoming averages 61.3 points per game, 15.4 fewer points than the 76.7 South Dakota gives up.

TOP PERFORMERS: Alexi Hempe is shooting 37.5% from beyond the arc with 2.5 made 3-pointers per game for the Coyotes, while averaging 12.5 points.

Allyson Fertig is averaging 18.1 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks for the Cowgirls.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

PIERRE, S.D. — A case of Bovine tuberculosis has been confirmed in a beef steer from South Dakota, marking the first case in the state since 2021. The infection was detected through routine meat inspections and is currently under investigation to trace its origin.

According to Beth Thompson, South Dakota state veterinarian and executive secretary of the South Dakota Animal Industry Board, the infected steer was identified in late October during routine inspection at a Wisconsin packing plant.

“When cattle are slaughtered at inspected plants, there are trained inspectors who look at the carcass at various points in the process,” Thompson said. “This steer was found at slaughter, meaning an inspector noticed some sort of pathology, pulled the animal, and submitted samples.

The United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, confirmed samples Nov. 5 from a beef steer to be tuberculosis positive by PCR. The culture isolate recovered was reported Dec. 6 to be Mycobacterium bovis.

Records from the packing plant linked the animal to a feedlot in Hamlin County, South Dakota. However, additional investigation is ongoing to identify the source herd from which the animal originated.

“The traceback was fairly quick and easy on this animal, to the feed yard,” Thompson said. “The slaughter plant had records which identified the farms who had contributed to the load. We now need to determine the origin of the steer, as it was moved onto the feedlot.”

The State Veterinarian’s office is working closely with the feedlot owner as well as other producers who may have sold animals purchased by the feedlot, USDA officials, and area veterinarians to locate the steer’s source herd. Necessary precautions are being taken to protect the health of South Dakota’s cattle industry.

“One of our field veterinarians is working closely with the feedlot owner as a point of contact,” Thompson said. “The work we are doing now with both the feedlot owner and the source herds includes testing and tracking animals via records. The herd owners we are working with in this investigation have been very cooperative, and we have started TB testing.”

Bovine tuberculosis is a chronic, slow-progressing respiratory disease that primarily affects cattle. While infected animals can transmit the disease to others in close contact, cattle rarely exhibit visible signs of illness. This makes it difficult to detect without regular testing.

The disease was nearly eradicated in the United States due to a longstanding campaign, and the disease is now rare. South Dakota has been recognized as free of bovine TB since 1982, and this is the first case in the state in over three years.

Thompson wants the public to be reassured that Bovine tuberculosis does not pose a threat to food safety in the United States, specifically thanks to strict pasteurization and meat inspection processes.

“There are trained personnel in the plants, looking at the carcasses and watching the slaughter process,” Thompson said. “They are trained to detect pathologies, and are also trained in other areas of food safety at a plant level. The risk of infection from eating meat from an infected animal is low; the main risk is to the plant employees who handle the carcasses.”

For further updates on the investigation and precautions being taken, contact the South Dakota Animal Industry Board or USDA APHIS.

Kennedy is a reporter for Agweek based out of South Dakota. She grew up on an organic crop farm where her family also raises cattle in eastern South Dakota. She graduated from South Dakota State University in 2023 with a major in agricultural communication and minor in agricultural business. She enjoys connecting with producers and agribusinesses across the region while reporting on all things agriculture.