South Dakota opened the 2020-21 season with a 27-20 road win at No. 7 Illinois State Saturday in Normal. It was program's second consecutive win against a top-10 team dating back to last season. The Coyotes, who entered the national rankings at No. 20 Monday, will look to make it three in a row when they face No. 4 North Dakota Thursday in Grand Forks.
 
Here are some other notes from week one:

• South Dakota forced turnovers on five consecutive possessions and had seven takeaways in all. The Coyote offense scored 24 points off those turnovers.
• The Coyotes' four interceptions were its most since a 42-0 win against Southern Illinois back in 2017. It was just the second time since 2010 that USD had four picks.
• You may recall the Coyotes recovered four fumbles in their 24-21 upset of South Dakota State to end 2019. USD recovered three fumbles in this one.
• The Coyotes had two true freshmen in their opening day lineup. Quarterback Carson Camp accounted for all USD touchdowns and was the first true freshman signal caller to start a game at USD since 1999. Cornerback Myles Harden became just the 13^th Coyote since 2000 to record two picks in a game. His first came in the final minute of the first half and setup Camp's game-tying touchdown run.
• South Dakota had five sacks Saturday. The Coyotes posted five sacks twice in 2019.
• Sophomore linebacker Brock Mogensen got his first collegiate sack and led the Coyotes with 12 tackles
• Edge rusher Jacob Matthew added a career-high 10 tackles including 2.5 for loss.
• Defensive tackle DeValon Whitcomb had seven tackles including 1.5 for loss. His strip sack was the first in the string of turnovers forced by the defense. He also recovered a fumble later in the game.
• Linebacker Jack Cochrane became the 14^th Coyote since 2000 to record 200 career tackles
• Placekicker Mason Lorber was good from 34 and 31 yards. It was his sixth time making two field goals in a game.
• Carter Bell played in the maximum four games to qualify as a redshirt in 2019. He caught seven passes for 75 yards and a touchdown in those games. He led USD with four receptions for 64 yards and a score in the opener.
• Senior offensive lineman Mason Scheidegger had started all 36 games for USD over the last three seasons, but couldn't go Saturday. Jack Cochrane's 24 consecutive starts is now the team's longest active streak.

 
QUOTABLE
 
Senior defensive tackle DeValon Whitcomb
On finally reaching a game day…
"It felt surreal. I was telling (Jack) Cochrane before the game, I was like 'it's either I gotta get smacked or I gotta smack somebody to wake up' because it didn't feel real because it's been 460-plus days since we played a football game."
 
On making the first turnover in a string of five straight and seven overall…
"I got the same key read that I got and the quarterback showed up in my face. I was in the right place at the right time and Jake was there to make the recovery. From there, it was a domino effect and we forced five consecutive turnovers. We were never down, but that spark helped generated all types of energy for us."
 
On what stood out on film…
"Just how ball hungry we were as a defense and how we didn't give up. We just kept scratching and clawing and we came out with the dub. So just staying consistent and persistent as a team was the main thing that stood out for me."
 
Senior running back Kai Henry
On how it felt to go through a game day…
"We got dressed before before the game, and I probably sat there crying for a few minutes because I was super excited. I was thinking about the plays and couldn't wait to get out there with my boys. It just felt different."
 
On Illinois State…
"They are a great team with a great defense. It was great to see the teamwork and all the work that we put in these last 15 months. It paid dividends Saturday."
 
On defense leading to offense…
"The momentum shifted fast and we had to bring some more juice from the sidelines and I just kept encouraging everyone to stay on it and stay positive.
 
"It wasn't the offensive performance we expected. We just got to keep making the routine plays and be that tempo team that we are. We couldn't get into it like we wanted to with Illinois State, but will work for it in week two."
 
Senior rush backer Jacob Matthew
On the week one performance…
"It was all 11 guys finding the ball and it was a great team win. Our defense was flying around and playing as a unit.
 
"We were talking leading up to the season about believing as a team that we wouldn't have to wait for things to happen to believe that we could win, but that we could just make a way to win. So when Meaty (DeValon Whitcomb) caused that fumble, it was no surprise to anyone. We knew someone was going to step up and we took our opportunity and closed the game."
 
On going through a game day…
"It didn't feel any different. A lot of people were talking about how weird February football is, but it feels like fall football. You're in that preparation process and being able to hop on that plane, put the headphones in and just that feeling of nostalgia of being so long since we've been here. It was just so much joy."
 
On how this defense plays to his strengths…
"Our coaches do a really good job of putting guys in positions where they think they're going to be strong at. So you're going to see guys at so many utility positions like J Rich (Jake Richardson) coming in and other guys rushing the passer. And because our coaches trust us, we can trust ourselves in those situations to make plays."
 
Sophomore linebacker Brock Mogensen
Thoughts on game one…
"It was a lot of fun. We were setup with a good plan, everyone did their jobs and that's what got us the win."
 
On what gave the defense success against Illinois State…
"Everybody was playing together and we were bringing energy. You don't get 11 turnovers without everybody running to the ball. The interceptions were great plays, and rallying to the ball is something we've tried to focus on."
 
On whether he should get a half interception for his tipped pass…
"I don't think so… I think that was Myles' interception…"
 
Freshman quarterback Carson Camp
On game one…
"It was definitely an experience. I soaked it all in, especially being in the hometown. That was a key thing in my mind was getting a win back home. But the speed of the game was really fast, and I expected that, but after a few series I got settled in.
 
"The second quarter was when we started expanding the ball down the field and that got me more comfortable."
 
On when he knew he was getting the start…
"We talked about it a little bit a few days before the game, but probably on that Tuesday we found out. It was an awesome thing to hear, obviously, but we still had to go out there and capitalize."
 
On his defense…
"Yeah, big shout out to the defense. We scored some points off of those, but still felt like we could've done more. We left some points out there and I had some throws that I should have completed, but the turnover margin was obviously positive. We need to take better advantage of that and it's something we will focus on heading into the UND game.
 
"Scoring 27 points on a No. 7-ranked team with that type of defense is definitely something we should be proud of, but it's time to get back in the film room and try to improve as much as we can."