Full Game Notes (.pdf) | Northern Colorado Notes (.pdf)

The Basics
South Dakota (0-3, 0-0 MVFC) at Northern Colorado (0-3, 0-0 Big Sky)
Saturday, Sept. 21 at 2 p.m. MDT
Greeley, Colo. (Nottingham Field)
TV: None
Radio: Coyote Sports Network (Joe Van Goor, Gary Culver, John Thayer)
Watch Online: FREE at Pluto TV (Channel 541)
Series: Northern Colorado leads 20-15 (USD has won the last two)

About the Coyotes:  USD is coming off a 52-point performance against Houston Baptist in which QB Austin Simmons passed for a program-record 537 yards ... Randy Baker and Caleb Vander Esch both surpassed 100 yards receiving, adding to the lore of USD's depth at that position ... Kai Henry ran for three scores and leads the team in rushing ... defensively, the team is led by two-time All-American DE Darin Greenfield, junior MLB Jack Cochrane and FS Phillip Powell ... Greenfield has a sack in each of his last two games ... Powell intercepted two passes a week ago against the Huskies

About the Bears:  Northern Colorado is playing at home for the first time this season ... they started the year facing two FBS teams in San Jose State and then-No. 22 Washington State, and dropped a 50-0 decision at conference foe Sacramento State last week ... QB Jacob Knipp is in his sixth year after being granted a waiver from the NCAA for a 2018 injury ... he was sacked and injured in the second quarter of last week's game in Sacramento and did not return ... RB Milo Hall carried 31 times for 113 yards and a score against Washington State ... LB Luke Nelson is approaching 200 career tackles ... CB Michael Walker boasts 20 career pass breakups

Quick Hits
-South Dakota beat UNC 43-28 in week two of last season inside the DakotaDome
-QB Austin Simmons passed for 462 yards and accounted for five TDs in that game
-Simmons passed for a record 537 yards and four scores last week against Houston Baptist
-Randy Baker tied a program record with 11 catches and had a career-high 102 yards last week. Caleb Vander Esch had 103 yards.
-Dakarai Allen is an all-Valley WR, and Kody Case combined for 212 yards and three TDs in the first two games of the year
-USD and UNC were NCC foes from 1980 to 2002 when the Bears jumped to Division I
-This is USD's first trip to Greeley since 2009. USD's last win in Greeley was 1988 (0-8 since).
-USD former player, coach and Hall of Famer Joe Glenn led Northern Colorado to back-to-back NCAA Division II national championships in 1996 and 1997 (he was 9-2 against South Dakota)

The Notes
Two teams seeking their first win of the season meet at Nottingham Field Saturday in Greeley. It is a rematch from last season where South Dakota defeated Northern Colorado 43-28 in Vermillion behind the arm of Austin Simmons and wide outs Shamar Jackson and Trystn Ducker, who each surpassed 130 yards receiving and a score. Defensively, South Dakota got two sacks from All-American defensive end Darin Greenfield and an interception from safety Phillip Powell.

Last year's game was a shootout between Simmons and Northern Colorado quarterback Jacob Knipp. Simmons passed for 462 yards, ran for 80 and accounted for five touchdowns. He went on to be named FCS National Player of the Week for that performance. Knipp completed 26 of 35 passes for 331 yards and three touchdowns. His top wide out, Alex Wesley, had 10 catches for 184 yards and a score. Wesley was cut by the New York Giants last week after being granted an injury settlement which will allow him to seek a new team.

The Coyotes were stunned at home a week ago against Houston Baptist, 53-52. The Huskies converted a two-point conversion with 1:14 remaining in the fourth quarter and intercepted Simmons on a 2nd-and-long throw on the ensuing possession. The two teams combined for 1,238 yards of total offense (USD - 642 yards; HBU - 596 yards).

Austin Simmons set program, single-game records for passing yards (537), attempts (65) and completions (48) last week against Houston Baptist. His 537 yards passing are the most by any player at any NCAA level this season.

South Dakota's strength on offense is tied to a deep receiving corps, and that was certainly proven true a week ago. Playing without Levi Falck (second-leading receiver in 2018) and Kody Case (17 catches, 212 yards, 3 TDs in first two games of 2019), the Coyotes got career highs from five different receivers. Caleb Vander Esch and Randy Baker became USD's first 100-yard receiving tandem since Shamar Jackson and Trystn Ducker acheived the feat last year against Northern Colorado. Tight ends Connor Herrmann and Brett Samson combined for 11 catches, 153 yards and two scores. All-Valley wide out Dakarai Allen also reached the end zone.

Phillip Powell, who missed much of last season, returned to form last week against Northern Colorado. He had two first-half interceptions, notched his 100th career tackle, and was credited with a pass breakup. Powell has seven interceptions in 20 career games as a Coyote.

Despite the quick passes to the edges, Darin Greenfield continues to be a disrupter for quarterbacks. He has had a sack and been tackled to prevent sacks (drawing penalties) in each of the last two games, and last week, he helped force a fourth-quarter interception by hitting HBU quarterback Bailey Zappe before a release to the red zone. Greenfield has 21.0 career sacks and 43.5 tackles-for-loss in his career, which rank fourth and fifth all-time at USD, respectively.

The injury bug has hit Coyote cornerbacks the hardest in the first weeks of the season. The veteran, Mark Collins Jr., hasn't returned since injuring his ankle while making an interception back in week one. Bakhari Goodson, a transfer from Massachusetts, and true sophomore Cameron Tisdale were injured during Saturday's game and did not return.
    True freshman Cori Fant Jr. has started each of the last two games in place of Collins and is USD's fifth-leading tackler thru three weeks. Sophomore Darion Bolden and redshirt-freshman Rodney Sivils Jr. rotated in at the other corner position last week and both made their first tackles as Coyotes.

South Dakota is working in a new "positionless" defense headed by coordinator Travis Johansen, who was the defensive coordinator at Grand View (Iowa) from 2013-18. In those six seasons, the Vikings were 61-11 with five conference championships, six NAIA playoff appearances and the 2013 national title (14-0).

There are no seniors in USD's 18-member linebacker crew. Jack Cochrane is a true junior and an all-MVFC Academic Team honoree who returns as the Coyotes' second-leading tackler. Junior Jake Matthew and redshirt freshmen Jakari Starling have started all three games and redshirt freshman Brock Mogensen earned his first collegiate start last week against Houston Baptist.

Eight Coyotes in program history have caught 11 passes in a single game. It has now happened twice in each of the last three seasons (since 2017). Kody Case caught 11 passses in the season opener, and Randy Baker caught 11 passes last week against Houston Baptist. Levi Falck (vs. Kansas State in 2018) is the other active Coyote to achieve the feat.

Kody Case missed all but four games last season due to injury after posting 25 catches for 430 yards and five touchdowns as a true freshman in 2017. He totaled 144 yards and two scores in the season opener against Montana, and came back with six catches for a team-high 68 yards and a score in week two at Oklahoma. He missed last week's game due to injury, but is listed on the two-deep this week.

Right guard Mason Scheidegger has started all 27 games since the start of the 2017 season, and has played all five positions during his career. Left guard Michael Bianchi is the only senior within the position group. Other members of this year's line include redshirt freshmen Kian Rexroat-Potts (center) and Isaac Erbes (right tackle). Sophomore Alex Jensen is at left tackle after competing at tight end the previous two seasons.

South Dakota's offense recorded a program-record 43 first downs last week, four more than the team posted in a double-overtime loss at Indiana State last season. The 27 first downs by passing is also a record.

After going 3 of 21 on third downs through two games, the Coyotes converted 10 of 16 last week against the Huskies. Austin Simmons passed for eight of the 10 and Kai Henry ran for the other two. Randy Baker totaled four catches for 53 yards in moving the chains four times.

Austin Simmons leads the nation with 96 completions through three games. He is second in attempts (132), third in yards (1,027), fifth in completion percentage (.727) and eighth in touchdown passes (8).
    USD career touchdown pass leaders:
    4. Ryan Justice (1999-2002)    36
    5. Dante Warren (2008-11)    35
    6. Austin Simmons (2016-pres.)    33

    USD career passing leaders:
    5. Jason Seurer (1989-92)    4,759
    6. Austin Simmons (2016-pres.)    4,561 (-198)

On special teams, Brady Schutt has the nation's fourth-best punting average at 46.9 yards per boot. Mason Lorber had made eight consecutive kicks dating back to last season before missing a 33-yarder last week at home against Houston Baptist.

Northern Colorado and South Dakota first met in Greeley, Colorado, in 1959. The teams competed nine times before becoming conference foes in 1980, and met every year for 23 consecutive seasons until 2003. The teams met in a home-and-home series in 2009 and 2010, and are completing the back end of a home-and-home series that began last season.

Joe Glenn led Northern Colorado to back-to-back national championships in 1996 and 1997. He was 98-35 in 11 seasons at UNC, and won three consecutive NCC titles from 1997-99 before taking the head gig at Montana in 2000. Glenn was the coach of the Coyotes for four years from 2012-15.