Full Game Notes (.pdf) | Missouri State Notes (.pdf)

The Basics
Missouri State (1-4, 1-1 MVFC) at No. 21 South Dakota (1-1, 1-1 MVFC)
Saturday, March 13, at 1 p.m. (CST)
Vermillion, S.D. (DakotaDome)
TV: MidcoSN (Jay Elsen, Andre Fields)
Radio: Coyote Sports Network (John Thayer, Gary Culver, Carter Woodiel)
Watch Online: ESPN+ (subcription required)
Series: South Dakota leads 4-2

About the Coyotes: USD's last three games dating back to last season have been against top-10 teams and the Coyotes won two of them ... USD was 5-7 overall in 2019 and 4-4 in the MVFC ... Carson Camp became the first true freshman QB to start a season opener in recorded history two weeks ago ... RB Kai Henry became the 14th player in program history to rush for 2,000 yards ... LB Brock Mogensen has led the team in tackles in each of the first two games ... the Coyotes forced seven turnovers in their win at Illinois State and added two more takeaways last week

About the Bears: Missouri State played at Oklahoma and had a home-and-home series with Central Arkansas in the fall ... they beat Western Illinois 30-24 in game one this spring before being blanked by North Dakota State last week ... redshirt freshman QB Jaden Johnson is a Southern Miss transfer who has averaged 158 yards with one touchdown toss through five games ... WR Damoriea Vick has 12 catches for 211 yards through two games this spring ... the Bears already have more sacks this season (14) than all of last season (9) ... they've also given up 30 sacks in five games ... Virginia Tech transfer Jeremy Webb has three interceptions in five games including one last week vs. NDSU

Quick Hits
-USD is playing its first home game inside its newly renovated DakotaDome
-The $26 million renovation to the west side includes a new locker room, two new entrances and new permanent seating
-USD re-entered the top-25 rankings last week for the first time since 2018
-The Coyotes won back-to-back games against top-10 teams before falling at No. 4 UND
-The Coyotes have forced nine turnovers (4 fum., 5 INTs) in two games
-USD forced four turnovers in beating Missouri State 45-10 last season in Springfield
-Brady Schutt (P), Caleb Vander Esch (WR), Brett Samson (TE) and Jack Cochrane (LB) are returning all-Valley honorees
-RB Kai Henry (2,038 yards) is the 14th-leading rusher in program history
-Carson Camp was USD's first true freshman QB to start a game since 1999

The Notes
South Dakota, the only Valley team yet to play a home game, hopes to host Missouri State Saturday at 1 p.m. inside the newly renovated DakotaDome. It's the third time the Coyotes have prepared to debut the renovation. The Sept. 19 date in the fall and the Feb. 19 scheduled bout with Western Illinois were both cancelled due to COVID-19.

The $26 million renovation started in February of 2019 and took 18 months to complete. In addition to the two new entrances, modern concourse and seating along the west side, the renovation included a football locker room, players lounge and new lighting and sound systems.

A second phase of the renovation, which is near the end of completion, includes team meeting spaces and football offices on the fourth level of the west side. The coaching staff will begin its transition to those offices at the conclusion of this spring season.

South Dakota and Missouri State met consecutively from 2012-15, but did not meet in 2016 or 2017. The Coyotes have won the two meetings since, a 35-28 win in Vermillion in 2018 and a 45-10 decision in Springfield in 2019. USD averaged 484 yards of offense in those two wins while its defense forced seven turnovers.

Caleb Vander Esch caught four passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns against Missouri State last year in Springfield, and Kai Henry ran 15 times for 60 yards and a score. Defensively, Jack Cochrane recovered a fumble that led to a touchdown and intercepted a pass that led to a touchdown all in a span of two minutes.

The storyline defensively through two games is turnovers. The Coyotes have forced nine of them already after posting 19 takeaways in 2019. On the other side, two fourth-quarter interceptions are all the USD offense has given back. That plus-seven turnover margin for two games is best in the FCS.

Much will be made about Carson Camp at quarterback, but true freshman cornerback Myles Harden is the FCS leader in passes defended. He had two interceptions in his collegiate debut at Illinois State and has broken up five other passes in two games.

A similar statement can be made at linebacker. Senior Jack Cochrane is the all-MVFC performer who led the conference in tackles during the regular season last year. But sophomore Brock Mogensen has been terrific in two games. Mogensen has been the Yotes' leading tackler in both games, he has three tackles-for-loss, a sack and got his first collegiate interception last week at UND.

Carson Camp accounted for all three USD touchdowns in the season-opening win at Illinois State. He passed for 193 yards last week, taking his two-game average to 207 yards. Caleb Vander Esch (9 rec., 90 yards) and Carter Bell (7 rec., 121 yards) have accounted for half the team's receiving yards. Both caught a touchdown from Camp against Illinois State.

Camp played high school ball at Normal Community West High School, which rests two miles from Hancock Stadium where he started and earned his first collegiate win against Illinois State. Camp graduated high school early and joined USD at the spring 2020 semester.

Two running backs — Kai Henry and Travis Theis — have taken all of the team's handoffs through two games. They've also combined for nine of the team's 40 receptions. Henry finished as the fifth-leading rusher in the Valley in 2019 at 72.5 yards per game.

Henry became the 14th Coyote to reach 2,000 rushing yards during last week's game at North Dakota. Here is where Henry ranks on the Coyotes' all-time rushing list:
    10.   2,197 - Noah Shepard (2005-09) (+159)
    11.   2,173 - Carl Johnson (1954-56) (+135)
    12.   2,116 - Tony Higgins (1984-87) (+78)
    13.   2,072 - Gregg Erickson (1971-73) (+34)
    14.   2,038 - Kai Henry (2017-pres.)

South Dakota returns all five offensive linemen from last season, but they are not returning to the same spot. Mason Scheidegger, who did not play the season opener at Illinois State, is flipping back from right guard to left guard where he spent a majority of his time in 2017. Austin Wallace is moving from left guard to right tackle and Isaac Erbes is moving from right tackle to right guard.

Last week was a statistical anomaly for USD under Bob Nielson. The 10 points tied for the fewest that the Coyotes have scored under Nielson. The Coyotes averaged 31.5 points per game in Nielson's first four seasons. It also marked the first time under Nielson that South Dakota lost when holding a team to fewer than 27 points.

With the exception of Camp at quarterback and Myles Harden at cornerback, all projected starters on offense and defense are in at least their third collegiate season. Fourteen of 22 are in at least their fourth collegiate season. That goes with upperclassmen at all three special teams positions.

Camp has been forced to exit both games this season during a drive. Jakob Parks has entered both times in his place. We've also seen redshirt freshman Hayden Ekern take snaps in both games.

Coyote punter Brady Schutt is a preseason all-American and has performed as one through two games. He was MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week following the team's win at Illinois State, but was even better in game two. He netted 43.7 yards on six punts at North Dakota and pinned three of them inside the 10-yard line.

South Dakota had won 16 consecutive home openers before losing to nationally-ranked Montana at the start of last season. That 16-game streak was tied for the fifth-longest in the FCS.

It was Missouri State who had the national ranking the last time these two teams met inside the DakotaDome. The Coyotes got 96 yards and three touchdowns on the ground from Ben Klett, and quarterback Austin Simmons threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Levi Falck for the final score in a 35-28 win over the 24th-ranked Bears on Oct. 6, 2018. Missouri State was turned away twice on run plays from the USD 1 late in that contest.

All-American defensive end Darin Greenfield has graduated and tackle Kameron Cline is in the NFL, but team captain DeValon Whitcomb is back at nose tackle and Brendan Webb and Jackson Coker appeared in nearly all 12 games a season ago. Minnesota transfer Micah Roane is also featured on this year's defensive line. The Coyotes had five sacks at Illinois State, but were shutout last week in North Dakota.

There were no seniors in USD's 18-member linebacker crew in 2019, and although the unit remains relatively young, they are certainly more experienced. All four starters are back including Jakari Starling, a Valley all-newcomer selection, and Brock Mogensen, USD's fifth-leading tackler as a redshirt freshman last season. Senior Jacob Matthew perhaps benefited the most from this new defense. He moved to outside backer and led USD with 5.0 sacks and 11.5 tackles-for-loss in 2019.

The safety crew is highlighted by two-year starter Elijah Reed, an honorable mention all-MVFC pick last season who finished as the team's second-leading tackler. Isaiah McDaniels, a redshirt junior, started and was instrumental in USD's upset of SDSU in the final game of 2019. He had nine tackles and forced two crucial turnovers (fumbles). Reed and McDaniels both had interceptions in the season opener at Illinois State.