ST. LOUIS—South Dakota senior quarterback Austin Simmons (Council Bluffs, Iowa) has been named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Coyotes' 38-0 Dakota Days victory over Indiana State Saturday. It is the second such award for Simmons this season and his third award in the last two years.
 
Simmons ran nine times for a career-high 138 yards and passed for 210 yards while accounting for four touchdowns (3 rush, 1 pass) against the Sycamores. He scored on runs of 4, 37 and 44 yards, and tossed a 29-yard touchdown pass to Drew Greenhaw. Simmons and the Coyotes racked up 522 yards against the nation's 15^th-ranked defense, which was permitting 304 yards per game.
 
Simmons leads the Valley and ranks eighth nationally in total offense at 333 yards per game. He ranks 15^th nationally in passing at 284 yards per game, and is ninth with a 68 percent completion percentage. Simmons has accounted for 13 touchdowns in five games (10 pass, 3 rush).
 
South Dakota (2-3, 1-0 MVFC) continues play next weekend with a trip to Springfield, Missouri, to face the Missouri State Bears (1-3, 1-0) in a 2 p.m. kick from Plaster Stadium.