The Game
South Dakota (6-3, 4-2 MVFC) and South Dakota State (7-2, 4-2) meet for the second time as FCS top-25 foes when the No. 17/19 Coyotes host the No. 7/4 Jackrabbits on Senior Day Saturday inside the DakotaDome in a 1 p.m. kick. The last intrastate meeting of top-25 teams came in 2017 when the Jacks eked out a 31-28 win on the final week of the regular season. That result gave SDSU a first-round bye in the playoffs while South Dakota ultimately qualified for its first FCS playoffs and scored a first-round win at Nicholls.
 
This year's meeting has playoff implications as well. South Dakota State, fresh off a home win against North Dakota State, has likely secured a playoff ticket and is hopeful to earn a top-eight seed and a first-round bye by taking care of business against South Dakota and North Dakota to close the season. The Coyotes, meanwhile, close with a pair of top-10 teams in SDSU and NDSU. One win would give South Dakota seven on the year, five in the Valley, and a quality win that should score a spot in the 24-team bracket.
 
The Series
South Dakota beat South Dakota State 24-21 on the final week of the 2019 regular season. That was the Coyotes' first win in the series since 2000, ending a string of 10 consecutive South Dakota State victories. The teams did not meet last spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the first matchup since that 2019 contest.
 
This is the 115^th game in a series that dates back to 1889. SDSU has won 21 of the last 25 games to take a 55-52-7 lead. Outside of World Wars, the only breaks in the series were eight years from 2004-11 when SDSU made the jump to FCS before USD, and last year due to the pandemic.
 
The Defenses
The numbers are eerily similar between the two defenses, almost down to the yard. Both rank in the top-10 nationally against the run and in the top-25 overall. Both are led by linebackers from eastern Iowa. Jack Cochrane (Mount Vernon, Iowa) will be in the running for Valley Defensive Player of the Year honors with the season he's having. In addition to leading the Coyotes with 74 tackles, he has eight tackles-for-loss and a team-high three interceptions. The strength of the defense is its front-seven, which has produced 30 sacks and ranks fifth nationally in sacks per game.
 
SDSU linebacker Adam Bock (Solon, Iowa), a third-year freshman, also has 74 tackles, which is twice as many as any of his teammates. Those low tackles speak to the depth of the Jacks. Fourteen different SDSU players have had a hand in a sack and seven different defenders have combined for 10 interceptions. Only two FCS teams have reached 20 points, but the two teams that did (Southern Illinois and UNI) were victorious.
 
The Offenses
Both teams want to run the football, but it's South Dakota State who boasts the nation's leading rusher in Pierre Strong Jr., a candidate for national player of the year. Strong is averaging 127 yard per game and has scored 14 touchdowns. He took the second play from scrimmage 75 yards to the house against the Bison last week and finished with 156 yards and two scores on 23 carries. Quarterback Chris Oladokun, a graduate transfer from Samford, has provided solid balance to Strong with the passing game. He's averaged 221 yards and thrown 16 touchdowns to three interceptions.
 
South Dakota counters with a two-headed approach at tailback in freshmen Travis Theis and Nate Thomas. They combine for 11 touchdowns and close to 150 yards per game on the ground. Carson Camp returned from injury and threw for 246 yards and two scores in essentially one half last week at Western Illinois. He has also been a good steward of the ball with 13 touchdowns and two interceptions. Wide receiver Carter Bell is coming off a five-catch, 182-yards and two-touchdown game against the Leathernecks. It included a program-record, 91-yard touchdown receptions and a 60-yard score. Bell has 584 yards and five touchdowns on the year.
 
One Last Thing
South Dakota will honor these 11 seniors in a pregame ceremony:  Jackson Coker, Jacob Matthew, DeValon Whitcomb, Mason Lorber, Brady Schutt, DeJaun Cooper, Mason Scheidegger, Brett Samson, Jack Cochrane, Elijah Reed and Caleb Vander Esch.

The Program