VERMILLION, S.D.—The game of the week that wasn't.
 
South Dakota dominated 10^th-ranked North Dakota from start to finish, outgaining the Hawks 575-257 and rolling to a 45-7 win Saturday inside the DakotaDome to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2006. The Coyotes, No. 23 in the polls and climbing, won their 15^th consecutive home opener dating back to 2003, and improved to 34-5 in home openers in the Dome dating back to 1979.
 
It was the only weekend FCS matchup between top-25 teams, but this one was over by halftime. The Coyotes scored on five of their seven first-half possessions, racking up 400 yards of offense in the process, and took a 31-0 lead into the break.
 
USD quarterback Chris Streveler completed 17 of 24 passes in the opening half for 241 yards that included a 68-yard bomb to Shamar Jackson that setup Streveler's 7-yard touchdown run, and a 13-yard touchdown toss to Jackson with 10 seconds to go in the second quarter. Streveler finished with 290 yards passing, 62 yards rushing, and three touchdowns (1 pass, 2 rush). Jackson caught four passes for a game-high 97 yards.
 
On the other side of the ball was a Coyote defense that passed another stern test in improving against the run. The Hawks came in averaging 154 yards thru two games and compiled 214 against the Yotes a year ago. USD held North Dakota to 47 yards rushing in the first half and 102 yards for the game.
 
"I want to congratulate our staff and our team," said USD head coach Bob Nielson. "Our staff put together really good plans on both sides of the football today. Our guys went out and executed it. We played with a lot of confidence and a lot of enthusiasm.
 
"It was great to be home. It's not often as a coach you get to feel the crowd energy. But I tell you what, when I walked out on the field today, I could feel it with our guys. It was great to have that tremendous fan support. They saw a good team today. We played like a good football team."
 
South Dakota took the opening kickoff, marched 82 yards, and took a 3-0 lead on a 21-yard field goal by Ryan Weese. Kai Henry capped drive two with an 8-yard touchdown run that made it 10-0. Jackson's big catch and Streveler's run made it 17-0 with 2:36 to go in the first quarter.
 
Henry broke through the line and rumbled 34 yards for a score that made it 24-0 with 8:59 left in the second quarter. Henry finished his third collegiate game with 80 yards on 12 totes and two touchdowns.
 
A missed 27-yard field goal late in the first half may have been the Coyotes' only blemish. But the defense stopped North Dakota on 4^th-and-5 from the USD 44, and Streveler worked a two-minute offense to perfection. He hit Alonge Brooks for 14 yards on 4^th-and-11 from the UND 31 to extend the drive with 21 seconds left. Two plays later, Streveler found Jackson wide open in the back of the end zone to make it 31-0.
 
To drive the point home, South Dakota went 66 yards in 10 plays on its first possession of the second half and made it 38-0 on a 14-yard quarterback draw by Streveler on one of the more impressive runs of the game. Then, in the fourth quarter, the Coyotes ran the ball 14 consecutive times on a drive that covered 64 yards and drained nearly 10 minutes off the clock. Ben Klett did the honors with a 7-yard touchdown run on 4^th-and-1 for the final score of the game with 1:43 remaining.
 
The Coyote defense was led by safety Andrew Gray, who had eight stops, Darin Greenfield, who had three tackles behind the line of scrimmage, and by Nick Kramer, who had two sacks in the second half.
 
North Dakota (1-2) got a game-high 85 yards rushing on 12 carries from John Santiago. Brady Oliveira, who had compiled 179 yards rushing thru two games, had nine yards against South Dakota on four carries. Quarterback Keaton Studsrud completed 11 of 22 passes for 133 yards and had a 10-yard touchdown toss to Travis Toivonen with 4:33 left in the third quarter.
 
South Dakota is off next week. The Coyotes open Missouri Valley Football Conference play against Western Illinois on Sept. 30 in Macomb, Illinois.