University of South Dakota Athletics

GAME 10: SOUTH DAKOTA (7-2, 4-2 MVFC) at NORTH DAKOTA STATE (8-1, 5-1 MVFC)
When	Saturday, Nov. 11 | 2:30 p.m. CDT
Where	Fargodome (18,700) | Fargo, North Dakota
Television	KVLY, NBC North Dakota Network (Brian Shawn, Lee Timmerman, Ryan Gellner)
Watch Online	ESPN3/WatchESPN
Radio	Coyote Sports Network (Joe Van Goor, Gary Culver, John Thayer)
Live Stats	Live Stats
South Dakota Links	Game Notes | Roster | Schedule | Stats
NDSU Links	Game Notes | Roster | Schedule | Stats
MVFC Links	MVFC Notes | Website | MVFC Stats
Social Media	Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Coyote Tailgate (opens at 11 a.m.)

The Game
No. 10 South Dakota takes on No. 6 North Dakota State in a battle for first place Saturday at 2:30 p.m. It is the only top-10 matchup on this week's slate, and is one of three games featuring two top-25 opponents.
 
For the visiting Coyotes, it's a chance to put a stamp on the program's first FCS playoff invitation. South Dakota was No. 9 in this week's FCS Committee rankings released Thursday and a top-8 seed would mean a first round bye and a second round home game. The Coyotes are also one of three teams who can finish with two wins and be guaranteed at least a share of the MVFC crown.
 
North Dakota State is coming off its first loss of the season, a 33-21 setback at South Dakota State last Saturday in a game in which the Bison committed five turnovers. You would have to go back to 2009 to find the last time the Bison lost two in a row. A win by the Bison would give NDSU its seventh straight Valley title.
 
The Scene of the Crime
South Dakota pulled off one of the more improbable upsets in FCS history the last time the Coyotes visited the Fargodome. The Coyotes, behind 294 total yards and three touchdowns from quarterback Ryan Saeger, beat the Bison and their quarterback Carson Wentz on a last-second field goal by All-American Miles Bergner. The 24-21 upset ended North Dakota State's 26-game home winning streak in Valley play, which was a conference record.
 
NDSU is 60-6 at home since the start of the 2010 season. The Bison's only home losses since 2012 are to South Dakota (2015), South Dakota State (2016), and last year's national champion, James Madison (2016).
 
No. 2 Offense vs. No. 2 Defense
South Dakota, behind quarterback and national player of the year candidate Chris Streveler, has averaged 41 points and 524 yards per game this season, both of which rank second nationally. North Dakota State defensively is allowing 12 points and 220 yards on average, which ranks third and second in the nation, respectively. Only two teams – Youngstown State (24) and South Dakota State (33) – have scored more than 14 points this year against NDSU.
 
South Dakota scored 21 points and totaled 345 yards in a 28-21 loss to NDSU in Vermillion last season. Streveler passed for 184 yards, ran for 63, and accounted for all three USD touchdowns. The Coyotes drove to the Bison 20 late in the fourth quarter looking for a game-tying score, but were turned away.
 
Bison's Power Run Game
North Dakota State is averaging 259 yards rushing per game, sixth-most nationally. The Bison average nearly six yards a carry, and have run on two-thirds of their plays this season. Junior Bruce Anderson averages 74 yards per game and five yards per carry. Quarterback Easton Stick is the team's third-leading rusher and averages 43 yards.
 
Last season, NDSU racked up 369 yards rushing on 52 totes against the Yotes in the seven-point victory. Stick completed 13 passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns. Those numbers came against a USD defense that allowed 250 yards rushing per game a year ago. This year's squad has allowed less than half that tally for the nation's 26^th-best run defense.
 
Turnovers
South Dakota was the last team in all of college football to record an offensive turnover this season. It didn't come until game six. Since then, the Coyotes have committed six turnovers in their last three games including four in last week's loss at UNI, a game the Yotes led nearly from start to finish.
 
On the other side of the coin is Stick, who had 12 touchdown passes against no interceptions through six games. He has four touchdown passes and seven picks in his last three. He also lost a fumble last week against the Jacks.
 
Record Watch
Streveler has passed for 2,718 yards this season and is the nation's third-leading passer at 338 yards per game. He stands 331 yards shy of the Coyotes' single-season passing yards record set by Wesley Beschorner in 2005. Also, Streveler is 305 yards shy of Beschorner's single-season record for total offense of 3,500. Streveler leads the nation in total offense with an average of 397 per game.
 
One Last Thing
The Coyote defense ranks third nationally in tackles-for-loss with 82 and is sixth in sacks with 32. True freshman defensive tackle Nathan Schultz turned in his best game of the season at UNI where the Panthers mustered just 55 yards rushing on 35 carries. Sophomore defensive end Darin Greenfield ranks second in the Valley in sacks and is second nationally in tackles-for-loss with 16.5. He can throw his hat into the race for Valley Defensive Player of the Year with two strong performances against top-10 teams to end the regular season.