University of South Dakota Athletics

Full Game Notes (.pdf) | Oklahoma Notes (.pdf)

The Basics
South Dakota (0-1, 0-0 MVFC) at Oklahoma (1-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Saturday, Sept. 7 at 6 p.m. CST
Norman, Okla. (Memorial Stadium)
TV: Fox Sports PPV (Ron Thulin, Gary Reasons, Lesley McCaslin)
Radio: Coyote Sports Network (Joe Van Goor, Gary Culver, John Thayer)
Watch Online: SoonerSports.com ($)
Series: First Meeting

About the Coyotes:  USD is two years removed from an 8-5 season and the program's first trip to the FCS playoffs ... the team debuted a "positionless" defense with new coordinator Travis Johansen that utilizes mainly a 3-4 look ... the names on the D-line and secondary are familiar, while MLB Jack Cochrane heads a young linebacker corps ... senior DE Darin Greenfield is a two-time All-American ... the offense is headed by senior QB Austin Simmons, the Valley's leading passer last season ... he has returning talent around him at the skill positions and youth on the line that protects him ... R-So. wide receiver Kody Case was the star in the opener, catching 11 passes for 144 yards and two scores

About the Sooners:  Oklahoma, a national semifinalist in 2017 and 2018, has won the last four Big 12 championships ... they boast the last two Heisman Trophy winners in QBs Baker Mayfield (2017) and Kyler Murray (2018) ... this year's starter, Jalen Hurts, helped Alabama win a national title at the end of the 2017 season ... Hurts passed for 332, ran for 176 and accounted for six TDs in Sunday's debut against Houston ... the Sooners also have a new defensive coordinator in Alex Grinch, a co-coordinator and safeties coach at Ohio State in 2018 ... he returns leading tackler and MLB Kenneth Murray

Quick Hits
-We are the KIGH-oats (two syllables)
-USD has faced an FBS program every year since 2010 and has wins against Minnesota (2010) and Bowling Green (2017) in that span
-USD will face Iowa State in 2020 and Kansas in 2021
-USD led Kansas State 24-12 heading into the fourth quarter of last year's season opener
-The Coyotes' last trip to the state of Oklahoma was 1974 against Cameron in Lawton. USD also faced Tulsa back in 1927.
-Bob Nielson is one of 14 active NCAA coaches with 200 career victories. He is a two-time national champion and three-time national coach of the year.
-DE Darin Greenfield and WR Dakarai Allen are returning all-Valley performers. Greenfield is a two-time All-American.
-Kody Case tied a program record with 11 catches and had 144 yards and 2 TDs in last week's opener against No. 25 Montana

The Notes
South Dakota will try to rebound in week two against one of the premier programs in all of college sports. Oklahoma is the fifth Big 12 (or former Big Eight) program the Coyotes will meet. USD has previously faced Iowa State (last meeting in 1959), Nebraska (1964), Kansas (2013) and Kansas State (2018). USD led the Wildcats 24-12 in the fourth quarter of last year's season opener before falling 27-24.

The Coyotes have been a part of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) since 2012, and have competed at the Division I level since 2009. The MVFC is the premier FCS conference and currently boasts five teams in the FCS top-16 rankings. The Valley has had at least one FBS win in each of the last nine seasons.

Since joining the MVFC in 2012, 48 of South Dakota's 82 opponents have been either a nationally-ranked FCS team or an FBS opponent (58 percent).

The strength of South Dakota's offense is its receiving corps where quarterback Austin Simmons returns nine of his top 10 receivers from last season. Included in that list is all-Valley wide out Dakarai Allen, who led USD with 48 catches for 703 yards and five touchdowns in 2018.

With the focus on Allen last week, it was the return of Kody Case that stole the headlines. Case, limited to four games last year due to injury, caught 11 balls for a career-high 144 yards and scored two touchdowns against Montana. Case was the Coyotes' fourth-leading receiver as a true freshmen in 2017 when he set a USD freshmen record with five touchdown catches.

Fifth-year senior Austin Simmons is an honorable mention all-Valley pick who led the league and ranked fourth nationally with 3,124 yards passing during the regular season. That total is second-highest in program history. Simmons was sixth in the nation in total offense (314.2 ypg). He passed for at least 325 yards in four of eight MVFC games. Not accounting for sacks, Simmons was USD's top rusher with 549 yards and a 6.5-yard per carry average.
    Simmons moved from 11th to seventh on the Coyotes' career passing yards last week after throwing for 246 yards and two scores. He stands 220 yards shy of 4,000 career passing yards.

Converting third downs and finishing drives was the difference against Montana in the season opener. The Griz were 11 of 17 on third down, and converted 12 of 14 from the second quarter on, while the Coyotes were 2 of 10. USD settled for a field goal following a 1st-and-goal from the 2 early in the second quarter, and had two of its four second-half drives stall inside the Grizzlies' 30.

It was a solid debut for USD's offensive line, which features two redshirt freshmen in Kian Rexroat-Potts (center) and Isaac Erbes (right tackle) and sophomore Alex Jensen (left tackle) who competed at tight end the last two seasons at USD. The only sack on Simmons was credited on the first play of the game when Simmons scrambled to the sidelines and took a 5-yard loss, and Montana's defense recorded just one hurry. Junior captain Mason Scheidegger has started every game since 2017 and played all five positions in that span.

It was a mixed result for South Dakota's new defense. The Coyotes shut down Montana's running game, limiting dual-threat quarterback Dalton Sneed to 11 yards on 10 carries in the process. But Sneed beat the Coyotes through the air to the tune of 427 yards and three scores. That said, a defense that picked off seven passes in 2018, got Sneed twice. Cornerback Mark Collins Jr. got his third career interception in the opening quarter, and middle linebacker Jack Cochrane picked off Sneed in the end zone in the fourth. Cochrane led the 'Yotes with nine tackles.

USD averaged 190 yards on the ground two years ago when the team qualified for the FCS playoffs. That average fell to 125 yards per game last season, and it is certainly a number head coach Bob Nielson is working to balance out this season.
    The Coyotes return their top three rushers including junior Kai Henry, who ran for 336 yards and five scores during the last five games of 2018. Henry has compiled more than 1,100 yards in his two seasons with 13 scores. He was injured at the end of a 16-yard screen pass on the second play of the second quarter last week and did not return. He carried four times for 29 yards in the first quarter, including a 17-yard burst down the left sideline.

Travis Johansen 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). Grand View finished in the top 15 of the national rankings in all six seasons.

Of the returners to the MVFC this year, no one has recorded more sacks and tackles-for-loss than Darin Greenfield over the previous two seasons. A two-time All-American and first-team all-MVFC honoree, Greenfield had 9.0 sacks and 19.5 TFL in 2017. He played through injury to rack up 6.0 sacks and 14.5 TFL in 2018. He is also the team's third-leading tackler in that span. Greenfield finished 20th in the ballot for FCS National Defensive Player of the Year last season.

Greenfield is fourth on USD's career sacks list with 19.0 (third is Brent Peterson, 21.5, 1994-97). He is sixth on USD's career TFL list with 41.5 (fifth is Aaron Dietrich, 42.0, 1999-2003).

Greenfield is part of a defensive line that features four seniors with plenty of starting experience for three positions. Senior co-captain DeValon Whitcomb netted his first collegiate sack last week. Kameron Cline has moved into more of a tackle position after playing end the previous years. Junior Jacob Headlee started all 11 games a year ago, but did not compete against Montana.

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. Jake Matthew and redshirt freshmen Jakari Starling and Jonathan Joanis made their first collegiate starts Saturday. Dakota Smith, another redshirt freshman, earned a fourth-quarter sack in his collegiate debut Saturday.

Defensive backs, an inexperienced group a year ago, is now a veteran unit in 2019. Mark Collins Jr. at cornerback led the nation in passes defended per game a year ago despite missing the final four games due to injury. Phillip Powell's season was cut short as well, but is set for his junior season. Elijah Reed stepped into a starting role and was the team's second-leading tackler from games 5-11. Cameron Tisdale was one of 12 players named to the MVFC All-Newcomer Team in 2018.
    In addition to those four, the Coyotes debuted Bakhari Goodson, a transfer UMass, a true freshmen Cori Fant Jr. at cornerback against Montana.

Mason Lorber made at least one field goal in all but two games a year ago. He ended the year with six straight makes and hit from 20 yards away on Saturday. Lorber has added kickoff duties in 2019.
    Punter Brady Schutt ranked third in the Valley and 12th nationally with a punting average of 42.9 yards. Dalton Godfrey returns as the long snapper.

South Dakota has averaged 31 points per game under Nielson and coordinator Ted Schlafke (36 games). The Coyotes are 11-2 over the last two seasons when scoring at least 30 points.

USD has invested close $100 million in its facilities over the last five years. In addition to an ongoing $26.3 million renovation to the DakotaDome, the Coyotes have built a new outdoor practice field for football, a basketball arena, track and field complex, and soccer complex.