University of South Dakota Athletics

Full Game Notes (.pdf) | Youngstown State Notes (.pdf)

The Basics
South Dakota (3-3, 2-1 MVFC) at Youngstown State (2-4, 1-2 MVFC)
Saturday, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m. EDT (5 p.m. CDT)
Youngstown, Ohio (Stambaugh Stadium)
TV: KELOLAND Media Group (My UTV in Sioux Falls & The CW in the Black Hills)
Radio: Coyote Sports Network (Joe Van Goor, Gary Culver, John Thayer)
Watch Online: ESPN+ (subscription required) (Jim Campbell, Drae Smith)
Series: YSU leads 5-1 (USD won 31-28 last year in Vermillion)

About the Coyotes:  South Dakota is trying to start 3-1 in Valley play for the third straight season ... three-fourths of the Coyotes' offense comes from the arm of QB Austin Simmons, the nation's fourth-leading passer at 320 yards per game ... WR Dakarai Allen is the Valley's top receiver with 490 yards ... defensively, the Coyotes feature All-American DE Darin Greenfield (3.0 sacks, 7.5 TFL) and all-Valley safety Andrew Gray (53 tackles, 2 INT, 2 FF) ... CB Mark Collins Jr. leads the nation in passes defended per game (11 BRUPs, 1 INT)

About the Penguins: Youngstown State is two years removed from its national runner-up finish ... the Penguins regressed to 6-5 last year and are 2-4 following a 36-7 loss at SDSU ... both YSU wins have come in its last two home games ... all-Valley RB Tevin McCaster has compiled more than 2,300 yards and 30 touchdowns ... senior QB Montgomery VanGorder transferred from Notre Dame and has 1,356 yards passing with 11 TDs and is the team's second-leading rusher ... WR Zach Farrar (20 rec, 307 yds) is a transfer from Mississippi Gulf Coast ... the defense is led by all-Valley LB Armand Dellovade and DE Shereif Bynum (4.0 sacks, 8.0 TFL)

Quick Hits
-South Dakota is playing a night game for the fifth time in seven games this season
-WR Shamar Jackson set a USD record with 229 yards in a win against YSU last season
-QB Austin Simmons has passed for at least 325 yards in all three Valley games
-Simmons' 1,924 yards in six games already ranks 10th in USD single-season history
-WR Dakarai Allen has 22 catches for 414 yards and three touchdowns in his last four games
-The Coyotes boast four receivers who have had 100-yard games this season
-A Gray brother has led USD in tackles in each of the last five games
-The Coyotes limited UNI to 99 yards rushing last weekend
-USD was +8 in turnovers before losing the battle 3-0 to UNI (led to three UNI touchdowns)
-The Coyotes converted 14 of 22 third downs against UNI (most in a game since 2016)
-PK Mason Lorber is tied for the Valley lead with eight FGs (at least one in all six games)

The Notes
South Dakota is going for its first win in four tries at Stambaugh Stadium this week when the Coyotes take on the Youngstown State Penguins. USD earned its first win in the series a year ago on Dakota Days when Ryan Weese kicked a 29-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining that broke a 28-28 tie. YSU was ranked No. 3 at the time and it was the Coyotes' third straight win against a top-20 team. USD went on to finish 8-5 overall with its first FCS playoff appearance.

Coyote quarterback Chris Streveler passed for 360 yards and three touchdowns in last year's win against Youngstown State. Shamar Jackson tied a USD record with 11 catches, and set a single-game record with 229 yards receiving. On the other side of the coin was YSU running back Tevin McCaster, who ran 22 times for a game-high 90 yards with four touchdowns (9, 3, 11, 3).

This will mark the first time since 2012 that South Dakota is facing an unranked Youngstown State team. The Penguins were preseason No. 24, but shocked by Butler at home in week one. The only similar opponent YSU has played so far is Southern Illinois, which the Penguins beat 17-14 at home two weeks ago.

South Dakota hasn't scored more than 20 points at Stambaugh Stadium, but is averaging 33 points in 30 games under Bob Nielson. Just two teams - NDSU last year and Weber State this year - have held Nielson's Coyotes to fewer than 20 points.

Youngstown State has ran the ball at least 44 times in all six games its played against South Dakota. In the first three games of the series, the Penguins averaged 257 yards rushing against the Coyotes on 5.1 yards per carry. In the most recent three meetings, YSU has averaged 166 yards rushing on 3.3 yards per carry.

South Dakota is 2-0 when coming off a loss this season. The Coyotes turned it over three times deep in their own territory against UNI last week, leading directly to three Panther touchdowns in a 42-28 defeat. Opponents have scored six touchdowns and a field goal on seven USD turnovers this year.

Austin Simmons has passed for 1,927 yards thru six games this season, a total that ranks seventh nationally and 10th on USD's single-season passing leaders list. With 210 yards, Simmons would climb to fifth on the Coyotes' list:
    5.    2,137, Dante Warren in 2010     11 games
    6.    2,000, Noah Shepard in 2008    11 games
    7.    1,984, Ryan Saeger in 2015      11 games
    8.    1,947, Chris Streveler in 2016    10 games
    9.    1,938, Noah Shepard in 2006     13 games
    10.  1,927, Austin Simmons in 2018    6 games

Just four FCS quarterbacks average more attempts passing per game than Simmons (43 per game). Just eight FCS quarterbacks have a better attempt:interception ratio (min. of 150 attempts). Simmons has 12 touchdowns against four interceptions thru six games.

Levi Falck, Trystn Ducker, Shamar Jackson and Dakarai Allen have each recorded 100-yard receiving games this season. Allen has led the Coyotes in receiving yards for four consecutive games and now leads the Valley with 490 yards. Here are his last four games:
    5 rec, 60 yards, 1 TD at Weber State
    6 rec, 183 yards, 1 TD at Southern Illinois
    5 rec, 73 yards, 0 TD vs. Missouri State
    6 rec, 98 yards, 1 TD vs. UNI
Tot: 22 rec, 414 yards, 3 TDs

Sophomore Ben Klett has been the starting running back in each of the last two games. He ran 11 times for 62 yards against Southern Illinois and 19 times for a career-high 96 yards and three touchdowns in the win against Missouri State. He netted 21 yards on 10 totes against UNI last week. Brandon Thull led the Coyotes against the Panthers with 37 yards on 12 carries including his first collegiate touchdown.

Four of South Dakota's five starting offensive linemen are returning starters from a year ago including four-year starter Nick Jensen at left tackle. The newcomer is redshirt freshman Austin Wallace, who has earned starts at right guard in each of the last three games.

USD tight ends were more involved in the passing game last week against UNI. Brett Samson caught five passes for a career-high 57 yards and Alex Jensen made his first collegiate catch. Samson, Herrmann and Jensen have produced 21 catches for 219 and a score this season.

South Dakota's defense has been led by senior twin brothers Andrew and Alex Gray, who have combined for three MVFC Defensive Player of the Week awards this season. In the last three weeks, Andrew, an all-Valley safety, has averaged 13 tackles a game and forced four turnovers. Alex, who plays linebacker, is second on the team in tackles behind Andrew, and has two sacks, an interception and 5.5 tackles-for-loss. Alex had a pick-six in the opener against Kansas State.

Andrew Gray enters play two tackles shy of 200 for his career, which includes 27 consecutive starts and 30 games as a Coyote. Just 12 Coyotes since 2000 have compiled 200 tackles.

The Coyotes' third-leading tackler is true sophomore linebacker Jack Cochrane who has 41 stops and a forced fumble thru six games. It was at this point last season that Cochrane had his redshirt pulled and sprung into action, mainly on special teams, but became a big part of the Coyotes' playoff run.

All-American Darin Greenfield gets a lot of the attention along the defensive line, but junior Kameron Cline on the other side joined the party last week. He earned a sack, forced a fumble and had three tackles-for-loss against UNI. Cline and Greenfield are tied for the team lead with 7.5 TFLs each this season.

The Coyotes are hopeful to get senior cornerback Isaac Armstead back in the near future. Armstead, who started the second half of 2017 and produced three picks, was injured in the season opener against Kansas State and is working his way back. True freshman Cameron Tisdale has performed admirably in five starts since.

At the other cornerback position is sophomore Mark Collins Jr., the nation's leader in passes defended per game. In addition to being the Coyotes' sixth-leading tackler, Collins Jr. has 11 pass breakups and one interception.

Sophomore safety Phillip Powell, USD's third-leading tackler last season, is out for the rest of this season due to injury. Sophomore Elijah Reed has started the last two weeks in his place and averaged six tackles a game in his last three.

Mason Lorber has made at least one field goal in all six games this season. Lorber, a sophomore, is making his first collegiate kicks after transferring from Iowa Western Community College.
    Ethan James handles kickoffs. Punter Brady Schutt was named to the Valley's all-newcomer team a year ago. Redshirt freshman Dalton Godfrey is the long snapper.

Since joining the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2012, 45 of South Dakota's 76 opponents have been either a nationally-ranked FCS team or an FBS opponent
(59 percent).

Of the 105 players on South Dakota's roster this season, 25 are upperclassmen (13 seniors, 12 juniors). Of the 66 players who have competed in 2018, 43 are underclassmen (24 sophomores, 11 redshirt freshmen, 8 true freshmen).

Bob Nielson is one of 17 active NCAA football coaches with 200 career victories.