South Dakota State @ Northern Iowa

South Dakota State edged Northern Iowa 15-15 in Cedar Falls on November 24, 2024, with the Jackrabbits awarded the dual victory. The final scoreline reflects how tight this Big 12 meeting was, with neither side able to create a decisive margin on the scoreboard.

What ultimately decided the match was the absence of match-changing bonus-point wins. There are no recorded falls, technical falls, or majors among the key outcomes, so the dual unfolded as a string of close decisions rather than dominant bonus-scoring performances. That made each decision and rideout far more valuable than usual.

With no standout ranked upsets or bonus-point bouts highlighted, the meet appears to have come down to the tiebreaking procedures after the 15-15 tie. That razor-thin separation underscored how evenly matched these programs were on the day, and how critical a single escape, takedown, or riding point can be in dual-meet math.

For Northern Iowa and South Dakota State, the result will sting or soothe depending on perspective, but it leaves a clear takeaway: in tightly contested Big 12 duals, bonus points matter. This one will be remembered as a duel decided not by a singular dominant performance but by the smallest margins and the tiebreak that followed.