South Dakota held its opponent to a season-low 205 yards and used another big first half to get past Indiana State 38-10 on Dakota Days Saturday inside the DakotaDome. The Coyotes led 24-3 at halftime and have outscored their last four opponents 115-24 in the first half. South Dakota improved to 66-33-5 all-time on homecoming and have won 16 of its last 20 Dakota Days games.
 
Here are more notes from week five:

• Indiana State netted 33 yards rushing. South Dakota is allowing 95 yards on the ground per game, which ranks 17^th nationally.
• Coyote quarterback Carson Camp threw three touchdown passes in a span of nine offensive plays in the second quarter. It was the first three-touchdown game of his collegiate career. He has thrown 10 touchdown passes in nine starts.
• Nate Thomas ran eight times for 71 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter Saturday. He finished with 111 yards on 11 carries. He is the second Coyote to eclipse 100 yards rushing this season (Mike Mansaray at Cal Poly).
• Only Pierre Strong of South Dakota State (8.84 ypc) is averaging more yards per carry nationally than Nate Thomas (8.77 ypc).
• Tight end Brett Samson caught two touchdown passes in a game for the second time of his career. He has 13 career touchdown receptions. Chris Mikkelsen ranks 10^th on the Coyotes' all-time list with 15 touchdown catches. The five above Mikkelsen had 16 touchdown grabs.
• Carter Bell found the end zone for the second time in three games. He has been USD's leading receiver in four consecutive games and in seven of Carson Camp's nine career starts.
• Caleb Vander Esch made his 100^th catch as a Coyote. Six more would put him on the program's top-10 list.
• Tre Thomas earned his first collegiate start at outside linebacker and made three tackles – two for loss including one sack
• DeJaun Cooper got his second sack in as many weeks and leads the team with three sacks this year, which ranks third in the Valley.
• Mason Lorber has made six consecutive field goals and 6-of-7 overall, which makes him the most accurate kicker in the Valley.
• Brady Schutt netted a season-best 46.0 yards per punt Saturday while pinning three of four inside the 20. Schutt ranks 14^th nationally with a 44.9 average. Eleven of his 25 punts have been inside the 20 with two touchbacks. The Coyotes rank sixth nationally in net punting.

 
QUOTABLE
Freshman running back Nate Thomas
On the success on the ground against Indiana State…
"We emphasized getting downhill. We realized it was hard to get to the perimeter against their defense, so our approach was to run them over. Constantly get them tired. When we got up, I knew what the job was and needed to get it done. I feel like I did an okay job, but there's things we can always work on so I'll go back and watch film and do that, but getting downhill to pick up the yards we needed was the key."
 
On Indiana State's unique defensive look…
"High school is nothing like college where you actually sit down and study formations and then you come on the field and see it. We practiced so many looks during practice, and when we came out here it was the same box, it was simple to read. So we prepared well and our coach did a great job in our preparation."
 
On his first semester of classes…
"I like studying business and I've found an interest in graphic design. I love messing with videos and doing different effects to videos. Growing up, I always did my own highlights because I love mixing videos with music and putting little effects in. So I think if I get more deep into that, I'll find another passion."
 
Sophomore linebacker Tre Thomas
On the defensive successes Saturday…
"The one thing we made sure we did was stop the run. That's the most important thing when you're competing in the Missouri Valley because that's what most teams try to do. We had a good approach on handling their motions and we were in the right gaps and did our assignments."
 
On the difference between this year at the spring…
"We're a lot closer as a unit and on the same page more often. We're all trying to do everything we can to win games. We also have a lot of young guys like Myles (Harden) and JoJo (Ganues) who came in ready to play. Those guys are talented, and with injuries this year, we all have to come in and be ready to go.
 
On how his role has evolved in recent weeks…
"With some of the injuries, I had to be ready to play. I've always been in on packages, but this was my first official start. And those guys, Jakari (Starling) and Jon (Joanis), were helping me along the way. They are great players I look up to and we are always coaching each other up. And we also have a great coach who makes sure we get the job done."