The Game
South Dakota returns to the UNI-Dome for the first time since 2013 when the Coyotes stunned the Panthers 38-31 in double overtime. Northern Iowa led 28-7 with 5:54 left in the third quarter before the Coyotes, behind quarterback Kevin Earl and wide out Riley Donovan, rallied for the win. Earl passed for 370 yards and accounted for five touchdowns (3 pass, 2 rush). Donovan caught nine passes for 178 yards and two scores.
This season's matchup features two teams still with playoff aspirations but with little margin for error. South Dakota has won two in a row including a 24-21 win against four-time defending champion North Dakota State. UNI earned its first Valley win a week ago in a 10-7 decision at South Dakota State. A key defensive stop late in the game on 4th-and-1 was the difference.
The Series
UNI leads the all-time series 26-18-1 and scored a 27-16 victory in Vermillion a year ago. The Coyotes have outgained the Panthers offensively in all three meetings since 2012, but have just the 2013 game in their win column.
The Coaches
Head coach Joe Glenn of South Dakota is one win shy of 200 in his collegiate career. He enters Saturday's game with a 199-131-1 mark spanning 28 seasons. With a win, he would become the 26th coach in NCAA history to achieve 200 wins.
Northern Iowa head coach Mark Farley is 123-60 in 15th seasons at UNI. He is the Valley's all-time coaching wins leader with 76 league victories. He's won seven conference championships and has eight playoff appearances including a national title game appearance in 2005 and two other trips to the semifinals.
Running Quarterbacks
South Dakota's Ryan Saeger and UNI's Aaron Bailey have had success running the read option this year. It helped Saeger amass 92 yards rushing during the Coyotes' upset of NDSU. He has 260 yards rushing with a touchdown this season. Bailey is UNI's leading passer (775 yards) and runner (639 yards). He averages 91 yards rushing per game and has totaled 10 touchdowns (5 run, 5 pass).
Run Stoppers
South Dakota and UNI have been stout against the run, ranking 34th and 36th, respectively, in the national rankings, yielding near 140 yards a contest. The Coyotes have been better defending the pass while the Panthers try to prevent passes from being thrown. South Dakota ranks 17th nationally in pass defense at 175 yards per game. UNI ranks 21st nationally in sacks with 19. The Panthers also have 57 tackles-for-loss thru seven games.
Van Ginkel (USD) vs. Schult (UNI)
South Dakota redshirt freshman defensive end Andrew Van Ginkel is second behind UNI junior defensive tackle Karter Schult in sacks and tackles-for-loss in the Valley. Schult leads with 7.0 sacks and 13.0 TFLs. Van Ginkel has 6.0 sacks and 12.0 TFLs
Pick Leaders
Four MVFC players stand with three interceptions this season. Three of those four players will be on the turf Saturday in Cedar Falls including Coyote safeties Tyson Graham and Jacob Warner and Panther cornerback Deiondre' Hall, who has returned two of his three picks for touchdowns.
One Final Note
South Dakota's roster features 21 players from the state of Iowa including five starters (Van Ginkel, Bredl, Banks, McGuire, and Van Roekel) and seven other Coyotes expected to make the trip to Cedar Falls.
