Full Game Notes (.pdf) | North Dakota Notes (.pdf)

The Basics
South Dakota (3-2, 1-1 MVFC) vs. #13/#15 North Dakota (2-2, 0-1 MVFC)
Saturday, Oct. 9 at 2 p.m. CST
Vermillion, S.D. (DakotaDome)
TV: Midco Sports (Jay Elsen, Andre Fields, Elaina Lanson)
Radio: Coyote Sports Network (John Thayer, Gary Culver, Carter Woodiel)
Watch Online: FREE webcast on GoYotes.com | Midco Sports Plus | ESPN+
Series: North Dakota leads 63-30-5 (won 21-10 this past March in Grand Forks

About the Coyotes:  USD has been convincing in its three wins and held a fourth-quarter lead in both losses ... the Coyotes have outscored FCS opponents 115-24 in the first half ... the defense is coming off its best performance during perhaps its best start at the Division I level ... preseason all-American LB Jack Cochrane is the catalyst there, but 11 different defenders have logged a sack ... a balanced offense features three freshman running backs including Nate Thomas who is averaging 8.7 yards per carry ... Carter Bell has led USD in receiving in four straight ... PK Mason Lorber is the most accurate kicker in the league and made six straight FGs ... P Brady Schutt is featured on one of the nation's top punt units

About the Hawks:  UND is coming off a 16-10 loss to NDSU Saturday in the series' first meeting in Grand Forks since 2003 ... offensively, the Hawks feature all-American RB Otis Weah, who rushed for 163 yards and two scores in a win against USD last season, and QB Tommy Schuster, who is averaging 234 yards passing per game ... a talented line allowed just three negative plays last week and has surrendered just two sacks through four games ... the Hawks are balanced defensively and seven of the eight turnovers they've forced have been interceptions by seven different players

Quick Hits
-South Dakota is receiving votes and sits just outside the top-25 in both FCS polls
-The Coyotes have knocked off a ranked opponent every year since 2013 (0-1 this fall)
-USD beat then-No. 10 North Dakota 45-7 in 2017 (last meeting in Vermillion)
-Nate Thomas, fourth on the depth chart and didn't play until game three, is the Valley's third-leading rusher at 87 yards per game
-Opposing RBs have run 97 times for 232 yards with zero TDs (2.4 ypc)
-Carter Bell has been Carson Camp's leading receiver in seven of nine career starts
-Caleb Vander Esch caught his 100th collegiate pass during last week's game
-USD has outscored its four FCS foes 115-24 in the first half (USD outscored 38-28 in second)
-Brock Mogensen had 11 tackles, an interception and two TFLs against North Dakota last March

The Notes
South Dakota gets another crack at North Dakota Saturday inside the DakotaDome. It is a rematch of a game that took place seven months ago when North Dakota's offensive line along with all-American running back Otis Weah starred in a 21-10 victory in Grand Forks. The Coyotes led 3-0 after one quarter and forced two turnovers to keep it close at the half. But the Fighting Hawks scored two touchdowns quickly to start the second half and the Coyotes didn't find the end zone until the fourth quarter.

South Dakota's defense is statistically better than the one that went to Grand Forks in March. The Coyotes rank 14th in scoring defense, 17th in rushing defense and 21st in total defense. But on that day, North Dakota ran for 249 yards, passed for 240 and outgained USD 489-328. The Fighting Hawks allowed no sacks, had three negative plays and didn't commit a penalty all game (USD had four for 34 yards). Otis Weah ran 16 times for 163 yards and two touchdowns and the Hawks controlled the ball for more than 35 minutes. It was the first game under Bob Nielson in which the Coyotes didn't win when holding an opponent to fewer than 27 points.

This South Dakota defense is coming off its best performance of the season, limiting Indiana State to 205 yards of offense including just 33 yards rushing. Linebacker Jack Cochrane led the team in tackles for the fourth time in five games, Elijah Reed and Tre Jackson recorded third-quarter interceptions, and DeJaun Cooper got his team-leading third sack of the season. The Sycamores went 3-and-out on five of their 11 possessions and gained fewer than 10 yards on seven of 11.

South Dakota's offense is coming off another big first half, scoring 21 points in the second quarter and helping USD to a 24-3 halftime lead against Indiana State. The Coyotes have outscored their four FCS foes 115-24 in the first half and outgained them 1,221-496. Quarterback Carson Camp completed 51-of-73 passes for 707 yards and seven touchdowns against zero interceptions in the first halves of those games.

The big leads have led to conservative second halves offensively and the introduction of true freshman running back Nate Thomas, who is quite suddenly the third-leading rusher in the MVFC with the second-best yards per carry average in the country. His 8.77 ypc are second only to SDSU's Pierre Strong (8.84 ypc).

Thomas started as the fourth back listed on the depth chart to start the season. He didn't see the field until week three at Cal Poly when injuries to Travis Theis and Shomari Lawrence moved him to number two behind Mike Mansaray. Mansaray started against Cal Poly and carried 21 times for 141 yards and two touchdowns. Thomas spelled him and ended the night with 92 yards and a score on 15 carries. He ran once in the first half the following week at Missouri State, but ended the night with four rushes for a team-high 60 yards. Eight of his 11 carries last week against Indiana State came in the fourth quarter, yet he led the team in rushing for a second time with 111 yards on 11 carries including a 27-yard touchdown.

In the second halves of the last four games, South Dakota has run 85 times for 369 yards and completed 14-of-30 passes for 183 yards. Of Thomas' 30 carries these past three games, 21 have come in the second half.

Running back Travis Theis has run for at least one touchdown in all four of his games this season and had two touchdowns in the home win against Northern Arizona.

Running back Mike Mansaray earned his first collegiate start last week against Indiana State. He has totaled 195 yards in his four games.

In nine games with Carson Camp as the starting quarterback, Carter Bell has caught 38 passes for 621 yards and four touchdowns. Bell has led the Coyotes in receiving in seven of nine games in 2021. He is the fourth-leading receiver in the Valley with 71 yards per game.

Coyote tight end Brett Samson came alive last week with five catches for 52 yards and two touchdowns. It was his second two-touchdown game in 10 games dating back to the end of 2019. Samson is the program's active leader in touchdown receptions with 13. Two more would put him on the Coyotes' top-10 list. Three would put him in the top-five.

Caleb Vander Esch recorded his 100th collegiate catch last week during the game with Indiana State. He led South Dakota with seven catches and 57 yards against North Dakota last March. Six more catches would tie him with Dan Skelly for 10th place on the program's all-time list.

South Dakota has totaled eight sacks in its first two Valley games and ranks fifth in the nation with 15 sacks in all. Linebacker DeJaun Cooper has a sack in three straight and is the team leader. Fellow linebacker Tre Thomas has two and defensive linemen Nick Gaes and Brendan Webb also have two. Eleven different Coyotes have combined for the 15 sacks. North Dakota has allowed a total of four sacks in 11 games played in 2021.

South Dakota's defense has held opposing running backs to 232 yards on 97 carries and zero touchdowns through five games. Indiana State starter Peterson Kerlegrand ran 11 times for 24 yards last week. North Dakota's Otis Weah led the Valley in rushing last year with 730 yards and scored at least one touchdown in all seven games. He has run 58 times for 265 yards and three scores in three games this season for an average of 73 yards per game.

Wesley Eliodor is the first Coyote in 13 seasons to return a kickoff for a touchdown. He ranks fourth in the nation with a 34-yard kick return average on eight returns. He is one of 13 FCS players who have run a kick back for a score this season.

Mason Lorber is the most accurate kicker in the Valley at 85 percent (6-of-7). He made six in a row following a season-opening miss at Kansas. Perhaps equally impressive, he has produced 20 touchbacks on 29 kickoffs. He had one touchback on 17 kickoffs during the four-game spring slate and 19 touchbacks on 69 kickoffs in 2019.

Brady Schutt continues as one of the nation's top punters. His net of 46 yards per punt last week was a season-high and that included three of four punts placed inside the 20. Schutt has the 14th-best average in the nation at 44.9, but the Coyotes have the sixth-best net average at 42.3. USD led the nation in net punting with Schutt this past spring.

This is the fourth matchup between Bob Nielson and Bubba Schweigert. Nielson hired Schweigert at Minnesota Duluth after Nielson moved from head football coach to athletic director there following the 2003 season. Schweigert left Duluth after four seasons to become the offensive coordinator at Southern Illinois. Nielson returned to the sidelines in 2008 and led Duluth to a 15-0 season and a Division II national championship. Current Coyote offensive coordinator Ted Schlafke was the quarterback of that team.

Saturday is the first time since 2018 that South Dakota has played back-to-back home games. It's just the third occurrence in five-plus seasons of the Nielson era.

Iowa Hawkeye Connection:  defensive line coach Corey Brown is the only new addition to the Coyotes' coaching staff. Brown is the third former Iowa Hawkeye Nielson has added to his defensive staff in the last three years. Brown (DL), Abdul Hodge (LB) and Myles Taylor (DB) are all former Hawkeyes.