University of South Dakota Athletics

Full Game Notes (.pdf)

The Basics
No. 18 South Dakota (7-4, 4-4 MVFC) at No. 22 Nicholls State (8-3, 7-2 Southland)
Saturday, Nov. 25 at 3 p.m.
Thibodaux, La. (Guidry Stadium)
TV: None
Radio: Coyote Sports Network (Joe Van Goor, Gary Culver, John Thayer)
Watch Online: ESPN3/WatchESPN
Series: First meeting

About the Coyotes:  South Dakota features the second-ranked offense in the nation at 519 yards per game ... the unit is led by senior QB Chris Streveler, a national player of the year finalist, who has accounted for 33 TDs against five turnovers in essentially 10 games ... the receiving corps features a nation-leading 10 pass catchers with at least 16 receptions ... RBs Michael Fredrick and Kai Henry rushed for more than 100 yards each last time out ... DE Darin Greenfield leads a defensive unit that ranks in the top 10 nationally for both sacks and TFL

About the Colonels:  Tim Rebowe, a national coach of the year finalist, has led Nicholls State to its first winning season since 2007 and first playoff appearance since 2006 ... the team won six straight before losing to SE Lousiana last week ... a two-point win against McNeese State in the season opener was likely the key in the Colonels' postseason bid ... NSU has averaged 279 yards rushing in its last three games on 52 carries per game ... RB Kyran Irvin has 676 yards and 7 TDs while Dontrell Taylor has added 464 yards and 4 TDs ... the NSU defense has compiled 32 sacks, 88 TFL and 9 INT ... PK Lorran Fonseca (18-22 FG) is a weapon

Quick Hits
-USD is competing in the FCS playoffs for the first time (first playoff appearance since 2006)
-South Dakota's seven wins are its most since 2006 when the team finished 9-2
-QB Chris Streveler is a finalist for the Walter Payton Award (Offensive Player of the Year)
-Streveler has set program records for single-season passing (3,236) and total off. (3,871)
-USD's offense nationally ranks second in total offense (520 ypg) and fifth in scoring (37.8 ppg)
-No FCS team has run more offensive plays this season than the Coyotes (911 in 11 games)
-Nicholls State is USD's seventh top-25 opponent this season (USD is 3-3 vs. top 25)
-Bob Nielson (2nd year at USD) has taken five of the six programs he has coached to the playoffs within his first four years with those teams
-USD has outscored teams 115-44 in the first quarter and 260-117 in the first half this season
-USD ranks third nationally with 93 TFL and eighth nationally with 35 sacks

The Notes
South Dakota is set to make its FCS playoff debut against Nicholls State Saturday in Louisiana. It marks the first postseason appearance for the Coyotes since 2006, when the team competed at the Division II level. The Colonels are in the postseason for the fourth time overall and first time since 2005. This is the team's first postseason home game.

The Coyotes are in the postseason thanks to an SRS rating of 18 (Nicholls is 28) and a schedule that the NCAA ranks as 10th toughest (Nicholls is 97). Of USD's 10 FCS opponents, six were ranked in the top 25. The team's 35-27 win at Bowling Green, an FBS program, factored in as well.

South Dakota is one of five MVFC teams in the playoffs, which ties an NCAA record. The Valley is 44-19 this decade in the playoffs. Seven of the top-30 teams in the NCAA's Simple Rating System (SRS) are MVFC teams.

The biggest difference between year one and year two under Bob Nielson has been the Coyote defense, particularly against the run. USD allowed 250 yards rushing per game last year in a 4-7 campaign. This year, teams have averaged 137 yards rushing with five teams held under 100. USD will be challenged again this week as Nicholls State enters with a 196-yard average.

Naturally, defensive line play has fueled the improvement against the run. Sophomore DE Darin Greenfield leads the Valley and ranks ninth nationally with 17.5 tackles-for-loss, which includes a team-best 7.0 sacks. DTs Taylor Lambert and Nathan Schultz have combined for 9.5 sacks and 16.5 TFL.

Linebackers Jim Litrenta and Alex Coker are two of the team's top-three tacklers this season. Litrenta is a two-year starter who has filled in nicely for captain John Wessel, who has missed most of the last two seasons to injury. Alex Gray, who has played in nine games with six starts, will miss the first half of Saturday's game due to a targeting penalty. True freshman Jack Cochrane could earn his first collegiate start in his place.

Junior free safety Andrew Gray, Alex's twin brother, is the Coyotes' second-leading tackler. He is joined in the secondary by redshirt freshman Phillip Powell, who has a team-best 32 tackles in the team's last four games. Powell also leads USD with three interceptions.

The Coyotes lost starting cornerbacks Adam Harris and Danny Rambo to suspension four games ago. Isaac Armstead, Doug Lewis and Mark Collins Jr. have rotated in their place. Armstead had a team-high nine tackles, an interception, and a sack on a fake field goal try in last week's game against South Dakota State.

Each of South Dakota's four touchdown drives last week spanned less than 1 minute, 16 seconds. Three of the four drives required 75 yards. Of USD's 54 touchdown drives, 25 have required less than two minutes. The average touchdown drive has spanned 2 minutes, 26 seconds and seven plays.

In just 20 starts at South Dakota, Chris Streveler ranks fourth on the Coyotes' all-time passing list (5,183 yards) and third for all-time passing touchdowns (43). He has averaged  258 yards passing and 73 yards rushing in those 20 starts.

Streveler is one of two quarterbacks nationally who ranks in the top 15 in each of the following categories: completion percentage, passing yards, total TDs, TD/INT ratio, and pass efficiency rating (Anthony Lawrence, San Diego). He leads the Valley in both passing and total offense.

Streveler hands off mostly to junior Michael Fredrick and true freshman Kai Henry. Both eclipsed 100 yards in last week's game against South Dakota State. As a tandem, they average 114 yards per game and 4.9 yards per carry. Each has scored six touchdowns.

Streveler's receiving corps is diverse. USD is the only team in the nation that has 10 players with at least 16 catches. Junior Shamar Jackson leads the group with 46 catches for 650 yards. He had a USD-record 229 yards on 11 catches in the win against Youngstown State. Senior Brandt Van Roekel has 36 catches for 490 yards and a team-high five touchdowns. Sophomore Dakarai Allen has 14 grabs for 178 yards and three scores in his last three games. Senior tight end Josh Hale had a Coyote-record 151 yards against UNI.

MILESTONE WATCH: Van Roekel can become the ninth Coyote to reach 100 career catches with three on Saturday. He is also 27 yards shy of 1,500 for his career.

RECORD WATCH: Streveler is 379 yards shy of the Valley's single-season, total offense record set by Illinois State quarterback Tre Roberson in 2014 (15 games). Also, USD's offense at 520 yards per game would establish an MVFC single-season team record (502.7, Southern Illinois, 2004)

The Coyote offensive line is led by hometown hero Nick Jensen at left tackle. After starting 25 consecutive games, Jensen missed six games this season due to injury. This is his third start back.

Redshirt freshman Mason Scheidegger has played every position on the offensive line this season, and started in every spot except right tackle. He began the year at center, moved to left tackle with Jensen's injury and is now at left guard following an injury to senior captain Stetson Dagel. True freshman Tyler Ciurej has made eight consecutive starts at center.

Sophomore Trystn Ducker, who led USD with 26 catches in 2016, has been the return man for the Coyotes for the second half of this year. His 38-yard kickoff return last week against South Dakota State is a team-best this season. He has nine receptions on the year.

Coyote place-kicker Adam Weese has made all 56 extra-point tries, and is 6-of-10 on field goal attempts. He kicked the game winner in the closing seconds in the win against Youngstown State. Half of his six field goals came in the second quarter against UNI three weeks ago. Vermillion native Ethan James handles kickoff duties for the Yotes.

Redshirt freshman Brady Schutt has filled in nicely for four-year starter and All-American Miles Bergner. He leads the Valley with 23 punts inside the 20, and ranks 39th nationally with a 40.7-yard average.

The Coyotes have scored on eight of their 11 opening possessions with seven touchdowns. Six times they have gone on to lead the entirety of the game.

South Dakota was the last team in all of college football to record an offensive turnover. It came on a fumble against Indiana State in game six, ending a turnover-free string of 544 plays from scrimmage spanning 26 quarters of football dating back to the final game of 2016. The Yotes have been turnover free six times this season. Only five FCS teams have committed fewer turnovers.

In their first years under coach Bob Nielson, six programs combined for a 24-38-1 record (38 percent). In year two, those same six programs are a combined 38-25 (60 percent). Each of his last five programs have made the playoffs within four years under Nielson, now including South Dakota, which finished 4-7 a year ago.

The Coyotes have faced no fewer than five nationally-ranked FCS teams in each of their six seasons in the Valley (since 2012). Not included in those numbers are six games against FBS foes. That means 41 of 68 games (6 of every 10) over the last five-plus years have been against either a FBS team or a nationally-ranked FCS foe.