Full Game Notes (.pdf) | South Dakota State Notes (.pdf)

The Basics
No. 5 South Dakota State (8-3, 5-2 MVFC) at South Dakota (4-7, 3-4 MVFC)
Saturday, Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. CST
Vermillion, S.D. (DakotaDome)
TV: MidcoSN (Jay Elsen, Kurtiss Riggs, Elaina Lanson)
Radio: Coyote Sports Network (Joe Van Goor, Gary Culver, John Thayer)
Watch Online: FREE webcast on GoYotes.com | ESPN+ (subcription required)
Series: SDSU leads 55-51-7 (won last 10)

About the Coyotes:  South Dakota is seeking its second 4-4 finish inside the Valley in the last three years ... the Coyotes are also trying to knock off a ranked opponent for the seventh consecutive season, a streak that dates back to 2013 ... QB Austin Simmons has been the Valley's top passer all season ... he will likely move into second place on USD's all-time passing list Saturday and eclipse 1,000 career rushing yards as well ... Kai Henry has rushed for 449 yards in the last four games, but was injured against NDSU and did not return ... LB Jack Cochrane is the Valley's third-leading tackler

About the Jackrabbits:  SDSU will likely secure one of eight seeds in the FCS 24-team playoff with a win Saturday ... the Jacks rebounded from a tough loss at home against Illinois State with an impressive win against UNI ... SDSU's defense, led by All-American LB Christian Rozeboom, ranks fifth nationally in scoring, fifth against the pass and eighth overall ... just one team, YSU, has reached 400 yards against the Jacks and more than half their foes have been held to 14 points or fewer ... offensively, the team played almost entirely last week without its two leading rushers and have been without starting QB J'Bore Gibbs for four weeks ... WR Cade Johnson has 1,048 yards and 8 TDs

Quick Hits
-Saturday will be the 114th meeting in a series that dates back to 1889
-The two teams are meeting in the regular season finale for the fifth time in eight seasons inside the MVFC
-Ten seniors will be recognized in a pregame ceremony down on the field
-Jesse Becker, who played MBB at USD from 2005-09, will perform in concert outside the DakotaDome prior to Saturday's game
-SDSU has won six straight matchups in Vermillion, a streak that began in 1999
-Simmons (6,235 passing yards) needs six yards to pass Wesley Beschorner for second place on the Coyotes' all-time passing list. He also enters with 997 career rushing yards
-ILB Jack Cochrane needs six tackles to become the third Coyote since 2000 to record 100 tackles in a season
-USD has knocked off a ranked opponent every year since 2013 (0-3 this year)

The Notes
South Dakota and South Dakota State are meeting for the 114th time in a series that dates back to 1889. South Dakota held a 48-34-7 lead in the series at the end of the 1980s, but the Jackrabbits have won 21 of the last 24 games since 1990 to take their first lead in the series which now sits at 55-51-7.

USD and SDSU are meeting in the regular season finale for the fifth time in eight seasons inside the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Before 2012, the last time USD and SDSU met in the regular season finale was 1979, the first year of the DakotaDome.

South Dakota and South Dakota State have met every season for the last 105 years with the following exceptions:
-Three years during World War I (1916-18)
-Three years during World War II (1943-45)
-Eight years after SDSU made the jump to FCS (2004-11)

Here are some notes from the first 113 meetings between the two intrastate rivals:
-43 games, including three of the last four, have been decided by seven points or less
-USD has scored 1,926 points; SDSU has scored 1,844 points
-There have been 32 shutouts in 113 games (one since 1970)
-SDSU has been shutout 20 times, USD 14 times (two 0-0 ties)
-USD's largest margin of victory is 73-7 in 1912
-SDSU's largest margin of victory is 61-0 in 1963
-The most combined points scored is 90 (USD, 51-39 in 1986)
-The teams have met twice in the same season 12 times
-The programs have yet to meet in the postseason

South Dakota quarterback Austin Simmons completed 34 of 58 passes for 295 yards and accounted for all four Coyote touchdowns in last year's 49-27 loss to SDSU in Brookings. The 58 pass attempts were second-most in program history at the time, and it came on a slick, snowy field in temperatures barely reaching 20 degrees. Pierre Strong carried 17 times for 253 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Jacks.

Simmons ranks 26th nationally in passing at 245 yards per game. His 2,701 yards passing this season are fourth-most in program history and his 25 touchdowns are third-most.

Simmons ranks 13th nationally in total offense (294 ypg), 14th in completion percentage (65 percent) and 12th in touchdown passes. Here are Simmons-related numbers to watch:
    USD career touchdown pass leaders:
    3. Chris Streveler (2016-17)    54
    4. Austin Simmons (2016-pres.)    50
    USD career passing leaders:
    1. Noah Shepard (2006-09)    8,936
    2. Wesley Beschorner (2002-05)    6,240 (+5)
    3. Austin Simmons (2016-pres.)    6,235
    4. Chris Streveler (2016-17)    6,081
    USD career total offense leaders:
    2. Chris Streveler (2016-17)    7,624 (+392)
    3. Wesley Beschorner (2002-05)    7,476 (+244)
    4. Austin Simmons (2016-pres.)    7,232
    USD career completion leaders:
    1. Noah Shepard (2006-09)    603 (+38)
    2. Austin Simmons (2016-pres.)    565
    USD single-season passing leaders:
    1. Austin Simmons, 2018    3,124 (+423)
    2. Wesley Beschorner, 2005    3,049 (+348)
    3. Austin Simmons, 2019        2,701

Other record-book related notes include: Kai Henry notched his 22nd career rushing touchdown last week, which ties Wesley Beschorner for 10th-most in program history; Henry is also 81 yards shy of 2,000 career rushing yards; Dakarai Allen (101 rec.)needs five catches to tie Dan Kelly for 10th-most in program history; Caleb Vander Esch (44 rec.) needs seven catches to reach the top-10 list for most catches in a season, and 11 catches to tie Will Powell's record; Darin Greenfield needs three sacks to tie the Coyotes' all-time record of 27.0;

Junior linebacker Jack Cochrane leads the Coyotes and ranks third in the Valley in tackles with 94. Just two USD players since 2000 have recorded 100 tackles in a single-season. The list is Jet Moreland (106) in 2016 and Adam Broders (102) in 2011.

Saturday features two of the top-three receivers in the Valley in South Dakota State's Cade Johnson and the Coyotes' Caleb Vander Esch. Johnson leads the Valley with 57 catches for 1,048 yards and eight touchdowns. Vander Esch has 44 catches for 638 yards and six scores.

Kudos to you if you had the Coyotes' ground game (26th) ranked higher than their air attack (35th) with one week to go.  The Coyotes have three 300-yard rushing efforts this season. Over the last four games, the team has averaged 5.3 yards per carry and 242 yards per game.
    Kai Henry had three consecutive 100-yard performances in that span, and was on his way to a fourth before missing the second half of last week's game. If Henry can't go Saturday, look for Canaan Brooks, Ben Klett and true freshman Travis Theis to carry the load. Brooks has scored a touchdown in three consecutive games. Theis has played in three games this season and can play Saturday without losing a year of eligibility.

True freshman Carter Bell, the Coyotes' leading receiver last week and return man, has played in four games and is not expected to play Saturday. South Dakota is hopeful to have Dakarai Allen and Kody Case return from injury ahead of Saturday's kick. Randy Baker, Caleb Vander Esch and Case are likely to return to special team's duties in Bell's absence.

Right guard Mason Scheidegger has started all 35 games since the start of the 2017 season, and has played all five positions during his career. Both tackles, redshirt freshman Isaac Erbes and sophomore Alex Jensen, have earned Valley Offensive Lineman of the Week honors this year. Jensen competed at tight end the previous two seasons. Another redshirt freshman, Kian Rexroat-Potts, starts at center. Austin Wallace has started at guard the last seven games.

South Dakota has played turnover free its last two games after committing 13 during its three-game skid. USD's defense led the Valley with nine interceptions through seven weeks, but hasn't had one in four games.

Austin Simmons has found a Valley-leading 19 different receivers this season, six of which have at least 20 catches. Conversely, SDSU has hit 11 different receivers and all but four have five catches or less.

Two-time All-American Darin Greenfield is tied with co-captain DeValon Whitcomb for the team lead with 5.0 sacks this season. Greenfield is already USD's all-time leader in tackles-for-loss with 52. He stands three sacks shy of the career record of 27.0 shared by A.J. Schable and Tyler Starr.

Junior Brady Schutt leads the Valley and ranks fifth nationally in punting at 45.0 yards per boot. His average was at 47, but instead of yardage, he has pinned eight punts inside the 20 over the last three weeks and hasn't had a touchback since week six. Also, Mason Lorber is the highest-scoring kicker in Valley play with 50 points, eight more than second-place Griffin Crosa of NDSU and 12 more than third-place Sam Fenlason of Illinois State.

South Dakota has converted 50 percent of its third downs since playing Oklahoma in week two. The Coyotes rank 16th nationally in third-down percentage. USD also has the second-most first downs in the FCS at 279 (25 per game), three behind national-leader Houston Baptist.

Saturday's game is part of the South Dakota Showdown Series presented by South Dakota Corn, an annual competition between the two athletic departments. USD currently holds a 3.5-1.5 lead in this year's competition. Saturday's winner will earn two points.