This Week's Matchup The University of South Dakota football team will look to get back to its winning ways when the Coyotes (1-1, 0-0 GWC) host the Drake Bulldogs (2-0, 0-0 PFL) on Saturday in the DakotaDome. The contest, which will kick off at 4:05 p.m., is part of USD's annual Hall of Fame celebration. Five former student-athletes and two special contributors will be inducted into the Coyote Hall of Fame in a ceremoy at noon in the Muenster University Center, and will also be recognized during halftime of the game.

The Coyotes are coming off a loss at No. 5 Northern Iowa last Saturday, but a return trip to the friendly confines of the DakotaDome presents a new challenge in Drake, a team the Coyotes haven't faced since 1972. The Bulldogs are 2-0 this season behind the accurate passing of quarterback Mike Piatkowski. Live stats, audio and video will be available through South Dakota's website at USDCoyotes.com. Midcontinent Communications will also broadcast the game live on cable channel 23. Tom Nieman (play-by-play) and Al Bahe (analyst) will be on the call.

Saturday's game is also Dollar Days. Select food (including walking tacos, popcorn and candy) and Pepsi products will be only one dollar at the concession stands.

Scouting the Bulldogs After finishing the 2008 campaign at 6-5, second-year head coach Chris Creighton has guided Drake to a 2-0 start to the 2009 season, including dominant wins over Grand View (22-0) on Sept. 5 and at Marist College (34-6) on Sept. 12. The Bulldogs return 13 starters and 35 letterwinners from last season's squad.

The Bulldogs' offense is spearheaded by quarterback Mike Piatkowski, who has an efficiency rating of 128.1 through DU's two contests. The sophomore has completed 45 of his 67 attempts for 432 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. On the ground, junior Tom Kostek and sophomore Patrick Oliver both have 17 attempts, while freshman Trey Morse has made 16. Kostek has rumbled for 59 yards and a touchdown, while Morse and Oliver have 49 and 48 yards, respectively. Wide receivers Stephen Platek and Drew Blackmon have caught Piatkowski's touchdown tosses.

The Drake defensive squad has been stellar so far this season, allowing just one touchdown and no field goals in the Bulldogs' first two games. Drake has made 21 tackles for a loss, including nine sacks, while recovering four fumbles and making three interceptions. The unit has also blocked two kicks. Individually, senior Cale Hunt has 14 tackles, including two tackles for a loss and a sack, from his linebacker position, while defensive back Tyler Moorehead, a sophomore, has 13.5 tackles and two forced fumbles. Senior defensive end Josh Walkup has three sacks.

Senior Brandon Wubs has also been impressive on kicking duties. He is 5-5 on field goals this season, connecting on every attempt between 20 and 39 yards. Also handling the punting, Wubs has kicked 12 times for 498 yards, averaging 41.5 yards per punt and pinning the opponents inside their own 20-yard line four times.

Coyote History versus the Bulldogs Drake holds an 11-5 advantage in the all-time series record, but the majority of those meetings occured in the 1950's and 60's. The Bulldogs and Coyotes first clashed in 1919, with South Dakota claiming a 6-3 victory, but the two didn't play again until 1949. Meeting almost every year until 1972, Drake claimed an 8-1 mark against USD, until the Coyotes won back-to-back games against DU in 1967 and 68. The Bulldogs rebounded with three more wins over South Dakota, but USD earned a 28-23 home victory over Drake in 1972 in the two program's last meeting.

Last Time Out....Coyote Football Falls to No. 5 Northern Iowa Northern Iowa turned five South Dakota turnovers into 35 points to hand the Coyotes a 66-7 loss in front of 12,688 fans on Saturday at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. USD fell to 1-1 on the season, while the No. 5-ranked Panthers improved to 1-1.

The Coyotes scored a touchdown on their first play from scrimmage, getting on the board courtesy of a little trickery. Quarterback Noah Shepard (Sr., Thornton, Colo.) handed the ball off to running back Chris Ganious (So., Houston, Texas), who made his way toward the line of scrimmage, before flipping the ball back to Shepard. Wide receiver Ben Oberle (Sr., Vermillion, S.D.) snuck behind the defense and Shepard found him for a 70-yard touchdown completion on the flea flicker at the 11:24 mark of the first quarter, drawing the Coyotes even after UNI scored an early touchdown.

USD's touchdown tied the game at seven, but it was all UNI after that. The Panthers capitalized on all of the Coyotes mistakes, turning two interceptions and three fumbles into five touchdowns. Northern Iowa's offense rolled behind quarterback Pat Grace, who finished the game 24-for-32 for 445 yards and four touchdowns despite leaving the game midway through the third quarter. UNI wide receivers D.P Eyman and Jarred Herring finished with 197 and 129 yards receiving, respectively. The Panthers did not punt in the game and faced just two fourth downs.

Shepard finished the game 15-for-24 for 168 yards with one touchdown. Oberle claimed a career-high 112 yards on six receptions, which also tied a career-high. Dan Skelly (Sr., Champlin, Minn.) also had six receptions for 44 yards. Ganious ran for 57 yards. Cornerback Dion Price (So., Tampa, Fla.) and linebacker Adam Broders (So., Bloomfield, Neb.) had nine tackles apiece, which were career highs for both. Jim Thompson (So., Hayward, Wis.) added seven stops, while Ryan Routh (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) had six. Cole Zwiefelhofer (Fr., Chippewa Falls, Wis.) averaged 49.3 yards on three punts for USD.

Seven Members Joining Coyote Sports Hall of Fame The University of South Dakota has announced that five former student-athletes and special contributors John Waltner and Mike Mahon will be inducted into the Coyote Sports Hall of Fame at noon on Saturday at the Muenster University Center.

Former athletes Elena (Swan) Davis of Fontana, Calif.; Kurt Seibel of Vermillion, S.D.; James Foster of Alexandria, Pa.; Steve Gordon of Omaha, Neb.; and Shane Murphy of Sioux Falls, S.D. will join Waltner of Sioux Falls, S.D. and Mahon of West Des Moines, Iowa, in the induction ceremony of the Class of 2009. USD will also recognize the 1992-93 and 1993-94 men's basketball teams which earned back-to-back trips to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight as part of the Hall of Fame's Special Achievements recognition.

The induction ceremony will begin at noon, and the honorees will also be recognized during halftime of the football game.

Oah that Oberle Senior Ben Oberle had a career day against No. 5 Northern Iowa last Saturday, courtesy of a trick play. On USD's first play from scrimmage, quarterback Noah Shepard handed off to running back Chris Ganious, who promptly flipped the ball back to Shepard. Oberle, a native of Vermillion, had snuck his way behind the defense, and Shepard found him for the 70-yard touchdown reception. Oberle went on to make six catches for 112 yards in the contest, and set career highs in both categories.

Looking in on the Lefty True freshman Cole Zwiefelhofer's foot is quickly becoming a top commodity for the Coyotes. After earning the starting punting duties, the lefty has posted several impressive kicks in USD's first two contests. The Chippewa Falls, Wis.,-native has six punts so far for 274 yards, posting a 45.7 average, and has two punts over 50 yards. He averaged 49.3 yards per kick in his three punts against UNI last Saturday.

Dialing Up Dan Senior Dan Skelly will be looking to earn several Coyote records of his own at the wide receiver position this fall. The Champlin Park, Minn., native was South Dakota's leading receiver last season, as he hauled in 47 catches for 880 yards and nine touchdowns. The mark was good enough for third on the single-season receiving yards list and fifth on the single-season pass receptions list, but Skelly has his eye on several career marks.

Skelly's two touchdown receptions in the season opener against William Penn tied for first in career touchdowns with 18. Only Derek Gearman from 2003-05 had as many. His six receptions versus the Statesmen also moved him into eighth in career receptions with 81. The top two marks in career receptions and yards have both come under Meierkort's watch.

Nowotny to Kick Sophomore wide receiver Dustin Nowotny will get a chance to stroll down memory lane this season, as he has earned the starting kicking duties. A native of Rapid City, S.D., Nowotny was one of the best kickers in the state during his prep career at St. Thomas More. At the time of his graduation, he owned the state record for most extra points made in a career (159), ranked third in extra points in a season (50), and was fourth all-time with eight extra points in a single game.

Stepping in as the Coyotes' first-string kicker against William Penn, Nowotny got USD on the board first with a 27-yard field goal in the first quarter, and went on to notch five extra points and seven kickoffs. He also caught a 35-yard touchdown pass. He added another extra point against Northern Iowa.

For the full game notes, click on the link above.