This Week's Matchup Two of the former top programs at the NCAA Division II level will renew football acquaintances on the FCS level when the South Dakota football team hosts UC Davis for its annual Dakota Days game on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the DakotaDome. Both teams will look to rebound from losses last week, as the Coyotes (3-2, 0-1 Great West) suffered a 27-12 loss at North Dakota and the Aggies (1-3, 0-0 Great West) were defeated, 34-16, by No. 5 Boise State in Idaho. USD and UCD, meeting for the first time since a Division II playoff clash in 1986, will both be looking for their first win of the season in conference action.

Live stats and subscription video for Saturday's game will be available through South Dakota's website at USDCoyotes.com, while live audio can be followed at B1027.com. Midcontinent Communications will also carry the contest live on cable channel 23. Tom Nieman (play-by-play) and Al Bahe (analyst) will be on the call.

Scouting the Aggies UC Davis returns 16 starters from last season under 17th-year head coach Bob Biggs and have started their 2009 campaign 1-3, but have faced a tough schedule. UCD opened with a 51-0 loss at FBS Fresno State, before losing a 17-10 home contest to top-five ranked FCS Montana. The Aggies claimed their first win of the season with a 29-13 decision over Western Oregon at home, and most recently lost a 34-16 game at No. 5 Boise State last Saturday.

The pass-first UC Davis offense is led by junior quarterback Greg Denham, who has connected on 114 of his 194 attempts this season for 981 yards. He has thrown five touchdowns and four interceptions. Senior wide receiver Chris Carter has 37 catches for 373 yards to average over 93 yards, but has yet to catch a touchdown reception. Junior wide receiver Sean Creadick has three scoring catches. On the ground, the Aggies average just 1.9 yards per rush. Junior running back Joe Trombetta leads the team with 124 yards on 46 attempts. He has UCD's only rushing touchdown.

On the defensive side of the ball, senior linebacker Mike Morales leads UCD with 28 tackles, including two stops for a loss and an interception. Junior free safety Danny Hart has made 21 stop and recovered three fumbles, while senior cornerback Kenneth Brown has 12 tackles, two interceptions and five pass break-ups. Sophomore defensive tackle Jacob Maxson has 1.5 sacks and four tackles for loss.

Coyote History versus the Aggies The Aggies and Coyotes have met once before, clashing in the first round of the 1986 DII playoffs. USD earned a 26-23 road victory, and advanced to the championship game before losing to NDSU. UC Davis began the transition to D1 in 2003-04 and became a full fledged member in 2007-08, while South Dakota is in its second year of transition.

Last Time Out: Shepard Sets USD Career Record in Loss to UND Senior quarterback Noah Shepard set USD's career touchdown passes record with a nine-yard strike early in the second quarter, but the South Dakota football team lost, 27-12, to North Dakota last Saturday in front of more than 12,431 fans at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, N.D.

A tight one-point contest at half turned into a UND win with 14 unanswered points in the second half. USD outrushed UND 201-184, but North Dakota held a 270-173 advantage through the air. The Fighting Sioux had 22 first downs and 454 yards of total offense compared to 20 first downs and 374 yards for the Coyotes.

USD couldn't manage any points on its first drive of the contest, and UND started to generate offensive momentum, but Brandon Hellevang missed his first field goal of the season from 38 yards. South Dakota didn't waste their second chance on the offensive side of the ball, though.

After several big rushes from running back Isaac Newton, including a 23-yard rumble, and a fumble recovery by tight end London Landry at the UND one-yard line, Newton punched the ball in from one yard out. USD's scoring drive was 10 plays for 79 yards in 4:27, but Dustin Nowotny's extra point attempt was blocked.

An unsportsmanlike penalty and a big run back on the kickoff by Ismael Bamba gave UND good field position inside USD's 30 yard line, and the Fighting Sioux capitalized. Three-straight rushing plays and UND's Mitch Sutton found the back of the end zone.

The Coyotes responded with another scoring drive, this time with the help of wide receiver Ben Oberle. Shepard found Oberle for a 44-yard pass down the right-hand side of the field and then connected with him two plays later from nine-yards out for the score. The play gave Shepard 65 career touchdown tosses at South Dakota. Sam Sawyer's extra-point attempt was blocked, as South Dakota took a 12-7 lead early in the second quarter.

North Dakota countered with its air attack on an eight-play, 60-yard drive, as Bamba caught several passes and Jarrel Davis hauled in a 13-yard touchdown catch over the middle. The Fighting Sioux had trouble of their own on the extra-point attempt, as the snap was fumbled and the holder was tackled to put UND up by one, 13-12.

The offenses exchanged three-and-outs, before USD put together another extended drive. Shepard found wide receiver Tom Flanagan for a 25-yard strike that softened up the UND defense and allowed USD to chip away at the Fighting Sioux on the ground. Running back Chris Ganious posted rushes of 12 and 15 yards, before Flanagan took an end around for 22 yards to the UND two yard line. The drive stalled though, and Sawyer missed a 21-yard attempt to end the first half. UND held a 166-116 advantage through the air in the first half, but the Coyotes outrushed the Fighting Sioux 144-46.

UND opened the second half with a systematic drive that lasted 12 plays, 80 yards and 5:44, before Landry connected with Sutton for a 12 yard score. Landry went 6-of-8 through the air on the drive, and the UND forced a punt from the Coyotes on the ensuing drive.

The Coyotes defense also stepped up, stopping a UND drive at midfield to give the ball back to USD at its own 24. USD drove to the UND 29 in 10 plays and looked to be creating momentum, but a tipped pass lead to a Fighting Sioux interception and North Dakota turned it into a touchdown to go up 27-12 early in the fourth quarter.

USD respond with a 13-play, 50-yard drive to get inside the UND one-yard line, but Shepard was unable to get inside the end zone on three consecutive rushes, as the Coyotes turned the ball over on downs with 3:33 left in the contest. Three UND first downs allowed the Fighting Sioux to run out the clock.

Shepard went 14-of-27 in the contest for 173 yards and one touchdown. Newton finished with 74 yards on the ground, while Ganious earned 58. Flanagan had 61 yards receiving.

Noah vs. Wesley With Noah Shepard passing Wesley Beschorner atop USD's career touchdown passes list last Saturday, the debate can begin who is South Dakota's best quarterback ever? Shepard now has 65 touchdown tosses to Beschorner's 64, and also has passed him in career passing yards and total offense. Beschorner, who was a wide receiver as a freshman, compiled a 23-9 record as a starter, while Shepard sits at 19-15. Beschorner also finished second in the voting for the Harlon Hill trophy, and was named to four All-American teams while leading the nation in touchdown passes as a senior.

On the Brink Senior wide receiver Dan Skelly could set several USD career records if he is able to play again this season. He is currently tied at 18 with Derek Gearman for career touchdown receptions, but has sat out the last two contests with a broken bone in his hand. He's also fifth on the career receiving yards list (1,766) and sixth on the career receptions list (90). He's also in the top five for several single-season records.

Domination on Dakota Days South Dakota has been very successful when playing on homecoming. Since 1914, the Coyotes have compiled a 58-28-5 record on Dakota Days. They have won eight-straight homecoming days, with their last loss coming in 2000 when they fell 21-7 to Nebraska-Omaha. During their winning streak, USD has outscored its opponents 203-63.

The most points the Coyotes have scored in a homecoming game is 60, when they defeated Morningside, 60-7, in 1973. The highest scoring Dakota Day game was in 1968 when USD and South Dakota State combined for 87 points. The Coyotes won that game, 55-32.

Shepard Claims Great West Offensive Player of the Week USD senior quarterback Noah Shepard was named the Great West Conference Offensive Player of the Week, the league announced on Sept. 27. The weekly honor was Shepard's second of the 2009 season.

A native of Thornton, Colo., Shepard continued his assault on the Coyote record book in South Dakota's 44-13 win over Southeastern Louisiana on Sept. 3 in the DakotaDome. He finished the game 21-of-29 for 259 yards and two touchdowns to tie the USD career touchdown passes mark. Shepard had 64, the same amount former Coyote quarterback and current offensive coordinator Wesley Beschorner threw for from 2002 to 2005. Shepard also rushed for 96 yards and two touchdowns against the Lions, as the USD offense posted 30 unanswered points in the second half.

Oberle Continues Career Play Senior Ben Oberle is crafting a career year this fall. He hauled in a career-high six catches and 112 yards against Northern Iowa on Sept. 12, and followed that with his first career blocked punt against Drake on Sept. 19. He also collected his first career sack against the Bulldogs. Oberle upped his career mark in catches when he caught seven for 110 yards against Southeastern Louisiana on Sept. 26.

Getting Offensive One of the top units in the nation last season, the South Dakota offense has already started to pile up the numbers again this season. By topping the 50-point mark in two games, the Coyotes rank 16th in the FCS in points per game (33.5), while earning 10th in total offense (430.8 ypg). The Coyotes are 13th in rushing offense (196.0 ypg) and 16th in passing efficiency (148.82).

Individually, senior quarterback Noah Shepard is 20th in the nation in pass efficiency (148.66) and 11th in the nation in scoring (9.6 ppg).

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