Promotions (details)
-Red Out Cancer With Cure Kids Cancer
-Take a Kid to the Game Day
-Movie Night ("Finding Dory" on the big screen after the game)
-Youth Football Day
-Social Media Day
-Faith and Family Night

The Game
South Dakota hosts Illinois State in a game with high stakes and little margin of error if you want to reach the postseason. For the Coyotes, a win means second place in the Valley standings with a record that would equal the team's best start in MVFC play. For the visiting Redbirds, it would be their sixth-straight win against South Dakota and back-to-back wins this season following a four-game skid.
 
Illinois State is the two-time defending Valley co-champion and was FCS national runner-up in 2014. The Redbirds beat Northwestern 9-7 back in week two (yes, the same Wildcat team that has beaten Iowa and Michigan State in back-to-back weeks), and climbed as high as No. 5 in the polls. Next came four straight losses to FCS teams including three to begin Valley play. That streak ended last week with a 31-28 win at home against Southern Illinois last weekend.
 
South Dakota has played a Valley-record three (double) overtime games this season and won two. The Coyotes' 33-30 victory against Indiana State last week was their first road win since beating North Dakota State last season in Fargo. USD is home for back-to-back weekends and 2-0 inside the DakotaDome this season.
 
About Illinois State
The Redbirds graduated two exceptional offensive players last year and have actually fallen to the bottom of the Valley in scoring at 22 points per game. All-American wide receiver Anthony Warrum is back and ranks 28^th nationally at 86 yards per game. Illinois State lost running back George Moreira to injury, but true freshman James Robinson, Illinois High School's all-time leading rusher, has posted back-to-back 100-yard performances in his place. Sophomore quarterback Jake Kolbe has 10 touchdowns against five interceptions and averages 230 yards per game.
 
The Redbirds' defense ranks 21^st nationally and has been particularly good against the pass. Only three teams have cracked 200 yards thru the air against them and Youngstown State was held to six completions for 89 yards two weeks ago. Junior defensive tackle Dalton Keene is the reigning MVFC Defensive Player of the Week after posting nine tackles including 1.5 sacks and forcing a fumble last week. Senior linebacker B.J. Bello has 49 tackles, 5.0 sacks and 7.5 TFLs. Junior safety Alec Kocour is the team's leading tackler.
 
Coyote Quarterbacks
South Dakota junior Chris Streveler returned to practice Wednesday, but it's uncertain if he will return to the starting lineup Saturday. Streveler has accounted for 19 of the Coyotes' 24 touchdowns this season and is one of the Valley's leading rushers at 80 yards per game. Senior Ryan Saeger took over in the second half last week against Indiana State and threw for 54 yards and a touchdown while running for 31. Saeger has 15 career starts including all 11 in 2015.
 
Coyote Running Backs
Senior Trevor Bouma is the Valley's second-leading rusher at 83 yards per game. He stands with 2,227 career yards, good for eighth in program history. He can break the top five of that list with 58 yards Saturday. Spelling Bouma will be sophomore Michael Fredrick who turned in season highs of 13 carries for 79 yards last week in Indiana. Illinois State allows an average of 134 yards per game, which ranks 76^th nationally.
 
Coyote Defense
South Dakota's defense has posted 20 tackles-for-loss and 10 sacks in its last two games. Senior Tyson Graham has three sacks in that time and is thriving in his new role at linebacker. Senior defensive end Colin Mertlik has three sacks in the last three games. Off the bench, the Coyotes have gotten significant contributions from both redshirt freshman Darin Greenfield and junior Taylor Lambert who each have 2.0 sacks and 4.0 TFLs in their last two games.
 
Did You Know?
The Coyote defense has picked off a pass in five consecutive games … USD is one of four teams nationally that has scored on all of its trips inside the 20 … the Gray twins, Andrew and Alex, have combined for 42 tackles in the last three weeks (21 each) … on offense, the Coyotes run one play every 22.5 seconds on average … USD's average touchdown drive has covered 62 yards in seven plays and 1 minute, 59 seconds
 
One Last Thing
South Dakota (2-for-16) and Indiana State (1-for-15) combined for three third-down conversions last week. The Coyotes have converted less than 25 percent of third downs over their last four games after converting 53 percent (23-for-43) thru their first two games. On the other side, Illinois State ranks 109^th nationally (out of 122) in third-down conversions with a 29-percent clip.