Full Game Notes (.pdf) | Northern Arizona Notes (.pdf)

The Basics
Northern Arizona (0-1) at South Dakota (0-1)
Saturday, Sept. 11 at 1 p.m. (CST)
Vermillion, S.D. (DakotaDome)
TV: Midco Sports (Jay Elsen, Andre Fields, Elaina Lanson)
Radio: Coyote Sports Network (John Thayer, Noah Shepard, Carter Woodiel)
Watch Online: FREE Webcast on GoYotes.com/watch | ESPN+ | Midco Sports Plus
Series: Tied 1-1

About the Coyotes:  USD fell to Kansas Friday 17-14 in a game the Coyotes outgained their Big 12 foes 263-245 ... RBs Travis Theis and Shomari Lawrence combined for 155 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries ... the Coyote defense held Kansas running backs to 30 yards on 25 handoffs ... KU QB Jason Bean led the Jayhawks with 54 yards rushing ... USD is coming off a 1-3 record during its first spring football season that had its final four games cancelled due to COVID-19 ... the team returns all but two starters, both on the offensive side ... LBs Jack Cochrane and Brock Mogensen are all-Valley honorees

About the Lumberjacks:  Northern Arizona fell 42-16 Thursday while hosting defending national champion Sam Houston State ... a pick-six midway through the third quarter sealed the 'Jacks' fate ... QB Keondre Wudtee, an Oklahoma State transfer who totaled seven touchdowns in five games last spring, was injured early in the game ... Jeff Widener relieved and passed for 274 yards, one TD and two INTs ... NAU was outgained 285-91 on the ground ... Widener led NAU with 31 yards rushing ... all-Big Sky wide out Stacy Chukwumezie had six catches for 112 yards and a TD ... NAU was 3-2 last spring ... All-American kicker Luis Aguilar missed from 29 and 53 yards against Sam Houston State

Quick Hits
-USD is receiving votes in this week's AFCA Top 25 Poll
-USD has won 16 of its last 18 home openers (lost in both 2019 and spring of 2021)
-This is the first game played in the newly renovated DakotaDome without fan restrictions
-The MVFC leads the MVFC-Big Sky series 1-0 after UND's win at Idaho State. USD is involved in two of the six matchups.
-Kansas' 245 yards of offense are the fourth-fewest allowed by USD under Nielson
-USD has preseason all-Americans in LB Jack Cochrane, P Brady Schutt and LS Dalton Godfrey
-Schutt, Godfrey, Brock Mogensen (LB) and Caleb Vander Esch (WR) are returning all-conference performers
-USD led the Valley in passing in each of the three seasons prior to the COVID-shortened spring season (98 yards at Kansas)

The Notes
A pair of teams seeking their first win of the season meet Saturday inside the DakotaDome as South Dakota hosts the Big Sky's Northern Arizona. The two programs first met in 2013 when then-No. 22 Northern Arizona beat USD 22-16 in Flagstaff. The Coyotes won the rematch the following year, 28-21, in an upset of the 23rd-ranked Lumberjacks behind quarterback Ryan Saeger who ran for 108 yards, passed for 85 and totaled three touchdowns.

South Dakota has faced a Big Sky opponent every (non-COVID) year since joining the Valley in 2012. The Coyotes have a 7-6 record against the Big Sky in that span which has come against six different Big Sky foes.

The MVFC-Big Sky challenge is entering its fifth year. Including North Dakota's win at Idaho State last week, the Valley has a 17-10 edge in games played and has narrowly won the series each season (5-3 in 2017; 5-3 in 2018; 6-4 in 2019). Last year's series had no regular-season games, but the MVFC won both playoff meetings. This year's challenge includes:
Sept. 4: North Dakota 35, Idaho State 14
Sept. 11: UNA at USD; Western Illinois at Montana; UNI at Sac State
Sept. 18: Eastern Washington at Western Illinois; USD at Cal Poly

South Dakota is coming off a 17-14 loss against the Big 12's Kansas Jayhawks Friday. The Coyotes took a 14-10 lead on a 25-yard touchdown run by Kansas native Travis Theis with 5:13 to go. But Kansas drove 64 yards on 11 plays, survived a 4th-and-10, and scored the game-winning touchdown with 1:10 left.

Kansas quarterback Jason Bean led the Jayhawks in rushing with 54 yards, but the three Kansas running backs totaled 30 yards on 25 carries. Kansas went 3-and-out on its first four possessions and didn't record a first down until the second quarter.

Conversely, Travis Theis carried 18 times for a career-high 96 yards and a score in his first collegiate start to pace South Dakota. Shomari Lawrence, who carried just twice in four games last spring, had 11 rushes for 59 yards including a 29-yard touchdown run that cut Kansas' lead to 10-7 in the third quarter. South Dakota out-gained the Jayhawks 165-82 on the ground and 263-245 overall.

USD defensive linemen Jacob Matthew (8 tackles), Brendan Webb (4), DeValon Whitcomb (4) and Nick Gaes (4) controlled the line of scrimmage throughout the opening game at Kansas. That freed up all-Valley linebackers Jack Cochrane (game-high 13 tackles) and Brock Mogensen (7) who combined for four of USD's nine tackles-for-loss.

South Dakota starting cornerback Myles Harden was tagged with a controversial targeting call during Kansas' final drive of the game and will not be available to compete during the first half Saturday against Northern Arizona. Without the penalty, Kansas would have faced a 4th-and-4 from the USD 21. Instead, the Jayhawks were granted 1st-and-10 from the 11.

Harden started all four games as a true freshman at cornerback last spring. He had two interceptions in his first collegiate game, a 27-20 upset at No. 7 Illinois State, and went on to lead the nation in pass breakups per game. Harden was voted to the Valley's All-Newcomer Team at the end of the season.

Da'Raun McKinney, a transfer from Iowa, is expected to start in Harden's place, though Cameron Tisdale has plenty of experience at the position as well. McKinney competed on special teams at Iowa in the fall of 2020 before moving to USD at the end of the fall semester. He was unable to compete for USD in the spring due to NCAA rules.

USD is seeking a return to balance on the offensive side of the ball. South Dakota averaged 31.5 points per game during Nielson's first four seasons from 2016-19. The short four-game sample in the spring produced 17.8 points per game. The Coyotes have boasted one of the top passing games in the country in recent years, but the running game dropped from 185 yards per game in 2019 to 80 this past spring. Take away 20 sacks and the average rises to 109 yards per game.

From an offensive line standpoint, the Coyotes boast veterans in Alex Jensen at left tackle, Kian Rexroat-Potts at center and Isaac Erbes at right guard. Joey Lombard, who earned two starts in the spring for an injured Mason Scheidegger, started at left guard against Kanas. Colton Harberts, who started at right tackle in the final game of the spring season, is scheduled to make his third consecutive start Saturday.

Quarterback Carson Camp became the first true freshman in USD recorded history to start a season opener at quarterback and he accounted for all three touchdowns in leading the Coyotes to a 27-20 upset at Illinois State in the spring season opener. Camp went on to rank in the top-20 nationally in passing yards per game (16th), completions per game (16th) and completion percentage (19th).

Camp's receiving corps includes two-time all-Valley honoree Caleb Vander Esch, all-Valley tight end Brett Samson, and speedsters Kody Case and Carter Bell. Only injuries have stopped Case in recent seasons. Bell, in place of Case, was USD's leading receiver in three of four games last spring. Case didn't start, but led USD with two catches for 37 yards last week.

South Dakota's defense held foes to 20.5 points per game this past spring and helped produce the fifth-best turnover margin in the nation. The unit recovered six fumbles, picked off five passes and accumulated seven sacks in just four games. The focus during the offseason includes being better against the run, which allowed teams 219 yards per game last spring, and getting off the field on third down where teams converted at a 50-percent clip. Coach Nielson hinted during media day to more 4-3 looks this fall to aid in run defense when necessary.

The 3-4 base defense plays to the strength of the Coyote linebackers where all-MVFC players Jack Cochrane and Brock Mogensen roam. Cochrane, a preseason all-American, led the Valley in tackles during the regular season in 2019 while Mogensen ranked second in tackles per game during this past spring season. Jacob Matthew, an outside backer or edge rusher, has led the Coyotes in sacks and tackle-for-loss in each of the last two seasons. He had USD's lone sack last week in Kansas.

Coyote specialists include senior punter Brady Schutt, a preseason all-American in both 2019 and 2020-21 who has performed at an all-American level both seasons. Schutt's punt unit led the nation in net punting during the spring and ranked seventh in 2019. His averages of 45.1 yards per punt in 2019 and 46.0 yards per punt in 2020-21 were both fourth-best nationally. His career punt average of 43.0 yards per boot is a program record. His 67-yard punt against Kansas was a career-long.

The Coyotes debuted a newly remodeled DakotaDome last spring. The $26 million renovation includes two new entrances, a modern concourse and permanent seating on the west side. It also includes a new football locker room and players lounge on the first level, and coaches offices and meeting spaces on the fourth level. Saturday will mark the first game inside the new DakotaDome without fan restrictions on attendance.

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.

Milestone Watch:  Jakari Starling (98 tackles) and Jacob Matthew (94) are nearing 100 career tackles. Safety Elijah Reed (188) is nearing 200. Offensively, Caleb Vander Esch enters play with 94 career catches. Dan Skelly, who competed for the Coyotes from 2005-09, is 10th on the Coyotes' all-time receptions list with 106.