Full Game Notes (.pdf) | Southern Illinois Notes (.pdf)

The Basics
No. 20/17 South Dakota (7-4, 5-3 MVFC) vs. No. 23/21 Southern Illinois (7-4, 5-3 MVFC)
Saturday, Nov. 27 at 5 p.m. (CST)
Vermillion, S.D. | DakotaDome (9,100)
TV: None
Radio: Coyote Sports Network (John Thayer, Gary Culver, Jay Elsen)
Watch Online: ESPN+ (subscription required) (Jason Ross, Tyoka Jackson)
Series: Tied 3-3 ... SIU won 48-28 in Vermillion in 2019 ... USD won in 2017 and 2018

About the Coyotes:  South Dakota won five games in Valley play for the first time ... wins at UNI and vs. South Dakota State helped the Coyotes secure an at-large bid to the postseason ... Nate Thomas and Travis Theis are two of the top-eight rushers in the Valley ... QB Carson Camp leads the Valley and ranks ninth nationally in pass efficiency ... WR Carter Bell ranks eight in the Valley in receiving ... defensively, the team is led by Defensive Player of the Year candidate Jack Cochrane who leads the team with 92 takcles and the Valley with four INTs ... DT Nick Gaes led the league with 7.0 sacks in Valley play ... USD may have the most well-rounded special teams units in the nation

About the Salukis:  Southern Illinois is making its second FCS playoff appearance of 2021 ... the spring playoff bid was the program's first since 2009 ... QB Nic Baker (Valley-best 25 TD passes) has a variety of weapons around him ... Javon Williams Jr. leads a trio of backs with between 395-475 yards rushing ... WR Landon Lenoir has 56 catches for 830 yards and 9 TDs ... defensively, the Salukis have 12 interceptions and recovered 11 fumbles ... LB Bryce Notree leads the team in tackles and has 4.0 sacks and an interception ... safety Qua Brown has 72 tackles and an INT ... PK Gualdoni is 15-20 on FGs

Quick Hits
-South Dakota is making its sixth NCAA playoff appearance and second at the FCS level
-The DakotaDome has seen three NCAA playoff games, but none since 1986. This is USD's first home playoff game at the FCS level.
-Bob Nielson is taking his 12th team to the NCAA playoffs in 29 seasons as a head coach
-USD is one of 10 FCS teams that have returned a kick and a punt for a TD this season
-USD faced four playoff teams during the regular season (2-2). Only one team (UNI) faced more. Seven playoff teams faced zero.
-Jack Cochrane (316 tackles) is the seventh player in program history to reach 300 tackles
-Visiting teams are averaging 14 points, 102 yards rushing and 281 yards total inside the Dome this season
-Carter Bell needs 14 yards and Brett Samson 52 to reach 1,000 career receiving yards

The Notes
South Dakota is making its sixth NCAA playoff appearance and second at the FCS level. Bob Nielson first took the Coyotes to the playoffs in his second season with the team back in 2017. The Coyotes forced a fumble at the goal line in the final minute of a 38-31 win at Nicholls in their FCS playoff debut. Chris Streveler accounted for an FCS playoff record 571 yards (520 passing) in a 54-42 loss at Sam Houston State in the round of 16.

South Dakota's first four NCAA playoff appearances came at the Division II level. The Coyotes were national runner-up in 1986. That's also the last time South Dakota and the DakotaDome hosted a playoff game. The Coyotes won at UC Davis before topping Troy State 42-28 at home in a national semifinal game. USD lost to North Dakota State in the championship game in Florence, Alabama, the following week.

The DakotaDome came online in 1979. This is the fourth playoff game its hosted. South Dakota is 2-1 in the three previous games. The Coyotes are 4-1 at home this season.

South Dakota beat South Dakota State on Senior Day inside the DakotaDome two weeks ago on perhaps the top play of the college football season. Trailing 20-17 with :01 left, Carson Camp completed a 57-yard Hail Mary to Jeremiah Webb for the winning score that ultimately clinched the Coyotes' playoff bid. Webb, who had three career catches entering that game, caught six passes for 152 yards against the Jackrabbits. The Hail Mary catch was his first collegiate touchdown.

The Missouri Valley Football Conference has a record six FCS playoff teams this season. The conference had five (four of six at-large bids) in the 16-team playoff that took place last spring. Five of the six Valley teams are in action this weekend. Three are hosting. South Dakota and Southern Illinois, despite being from the same conference, were eligible to face one another because the two teams did not meet during the regular season.

South Dakota and Southern Illinois last met in 2019 and it was not a good day for the Coyotes inside the DakotaDome. The Salukis ran for 334 yards and Javon Williams Jr. scored four touchdowns in a 48-28 SIU victory. Caleb Vander Esch (9 rec., 85 yds) and Brett Samson (2 rec, 26 yds) caught touchdown passes. Jack Cochrane (17) and Brock Mogensen (13) combined for 30 tackles.

South Dakota won on the road 31-24 at Southern Illinois to kick off conference play in 2018. The two teams combined for nearly 1,000 yards of offense. It was career victory No. 200 for Coyote coach Bob Nielson.

Southern Illinois' lineup competed in the FCS playoffs just a few months ago. Five current Coyotes saw action in South Dakota's playoff run in 2017 and only four are active for Saturday's game:  TE Brett Samson (starter), P Brady Schutt (starter), FS Elijah Reed and LB Jack Cochrane. DeJaun Cooper earned playoff experience as a member of Monmouth in 2019.

Both teams are coming off arguably their toughest losses of the season. South Dakota had a chance to win a share of its first conference title last week at North Dakota State. But the Bison shredded the Coyotes' highly-touted run defense to the tune of 303 yards and six touchdowns and rolled to an easy win. On the flip side, Southern Illinois was hosting a 2-7 Youngstown State team on Senior Day, but saw Jaleel McLaughlin run for 185 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-18 win by the Penguins. The winner of this game advances to the round of 16 against North Dakota State.

South Dakota's three prior losses this season had been by a TOTAL of 17 points. Kansas converted a 4th-and-10 on its final drive and scored a touchdown with 1:10 left to win 17-14. Missouri State defended three plays from the 1-yard line in the first half and survived USD's 1st-and-goal from the 9 in the final minute of a 31-23 decision. Illinois State survived 1st-and-goal from the 4 in the final minute of a 20-14 win. Coyote quarterback Carson Camp was injured early in the second quarter of that game and did not return.

South Dakota's offense, which led the Valley in passing for three consecutive seasons from 2017-19, has handed the keys to a veteran offensive line and a stable of young running backs. The Coyotes are averaging 176 yards rushing, which ranks 28th nationally. They boast the sixth- and eighth-leading rushers in the Valley in Nate Thomas (72.8 ypg) and Travis Theis (65.3 ypg). Theis barely played at NDSU last week due to an illness.

Alex Jensen (LT), Kian Rexroat Potts (C) and Isaac Erbes (RG) are veterans along the offensive line who have started 27 consecutive games.

Carson Camp has thrown at least two touchdowns in six of his last seven games. The lone exception was a start at home against Illinois State in which he was injured early in the second quarter and didn't return. He has thrown just two interceptions in those seven games. He was hit and intercepted on the first play of the game against SDSU and was picked off near the start of the fourth quarter last week at NDSU.

Jeremiah Webb, catcher of the Hail Mary, has been the Coyotes' leading receiver the last two weeks. He had three college catches prior to that, but an injury to Kody Case has provided more opportunities. Carter Bell has the eighth-most yards in the Valley. He had five catches for a career-high 182 yards – all in the first half – at Western Illinois three weeks ago. That said, he has totaled less than 25 yards in four of the last six games.

All-Valley linebacker Jack Cochrane was a leading candidate for Valley Defensive Player of the Year honors. In addition to leading a top-25 defense in tackles, he leads the Valley with four interceptions, ranks fifth in passes defended and has 9.0 tackles-for-loss including a sack. Cochrane is the seventh player in program history to make 300 tackles. Here is a look at the all-time list:
4.  336 - Matt Madsen, 1991-94
5.  331 - Craig Austin, 1978-81
6.  316 - Jack Cochrane, 2017-pres.

Cochrane is half of a pair of all-conference linebackers roaming the middle of the Coyotes' defense. Fourth-year sophomore Brock Mogensen earned all-Valley honors this past spring when he ranked second in the Valley in tackles per game. Mogensen is South Dakota's second-leading tackler this season.

South Dakota's defense has intercepted 10 passes this season – two in five different games. The Coyotes are plus-5 in turnovers this season, which ranks third in the Valley. Southern Illinois is plus-3, which ranks sixth.

The Coyotes have been playing without starting cornerbacks Tre Jackson and Myles Harden. Da'Raun McKinney, a transfer from Iowa, and veteran Cam Tisdale have started the last three games on the outside. All 43 of McKinney's tackles this season have come in the last six games, which are second on the team to Jack Cochrane. He's also had seven pass breakups in that span. Tisdale has played in 31 games and made 15 starts at cornerback over the last four seasons. Jailen Holman played much of the second half last week at NDSU.

South Dakota has 31 sacks this season and ranks 15th nationally in sacks per game (so do the Salukis). Third-year freshman Nick Gaes led the Valley with 7.0 sacks during conference play. Jacob Matthew, who has led the team in sacks and TFL in each of the last two seasons, has 6.0 sacks.

The Coyotes boast perhaps the best group of specialists in the nation. Punter Brady Schutt has ranked fourth in the nation in punting average the last two seasons and holds the program's career record of 43.1 yards per punt. He currently has the 11th-best average, but consider that nearly half his 54 punts have been pinned inside the 20 and he has just three touchbacks. Mason Lorber had made 10 consecutive field goals before two misses vs. SDSU. He has also generated touchbacks on 64 percent of his kickoffs. Wesley Eliodor (99-yard KO vs. MSU) and Carter Bell (47-yard punt last week) have returned kicks for touchdowns. Long snapper Dalton Godfrey is a preseason All-American.