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

The Basics
South Dakota (1-4, 0-2 MVFC) at Illinois State (3-2, 1-1 MVFC)
Saturday, Oct. 15 at 2 p.m. (CDT)
Normal, Ill. | Hancock Stadium (13,391)
TV: None
Radio: Coyote Sports Network (John Thayer, Gary Culver, Carter Woodiel)
Watch Online: ESPN3 (Scott Warmann, Adam Seidel, Kelly Burke)
Series: Illinois State leads 7-2 ... won 20-14 last season in Vermillion ... teams have split last four meetings

About the Coyotes:  South Dakota has faced the top three FCS teams and the No. 16 FBS team and is predictably 1-4 thru five games ... a 17-10 halftime lead against NDSU is the main highlight ... RB Travis Theis leads an offense that averages 132 yards on the ground ... CB Myles Harden leads the nation with six forced turnovers in five games (3 FF, 3 INT) ... LBs Stephen Hillis (2nd) and Brock Mogensen (5th) are two of the top-five tacklers in the Valley ... QB Carson Camp has totaled 164 yards passing in his last two games after throwing for a career-high 355 yards in the win against Cal Poly

About the Redbirds:  Illinois State is coming off its best win of the season, a 23-21 decision that spoiled homecoming at UNI ... the Redbirds return to host their own homecoming celebration this week ... all-Valley RB Cole Mueller went down in week one so the team has put the ball in the hands of quarterback Zack Annexstad, a transfer from Minnesota ... a 49 percent conversion rate on third downs highlights the offensive unit ... but the strength of the Redbirds remains a defense led by edge rusher Zeke Vandenburgh who has seven of Illinois State's 19 sacks ... he also leads the Valley with 52 tackles ...  the Redbirds rank 17th nationally in total defense and have forced nine turnovers (6 INT, 3 FR)

Quick Hits
-These two teams met twice in 2021 after a three-year hiatus. The road team won both games.
-USD QB Carson Camp hails from Bloomington and made his collegiate debut in a win at Illinois State in February of 2021
-Seven QBs in program history have passed for 4,000 yards (Carson Camp has 3,996 yards)
-CB Myles Harden leads the nation with six forced turnovers (3 INT, 3 FF)
-Edge rusher Michael Scott leads the Coyotes with 3.0 sacks, 6.0 TFL and is USD's third-leading tackler (career-high 11 at SDSU)
-USD is seeking to avoid its first 0-3 start in Valley play since 2014
-The Coyotes are facing the toughest FCS schedule in the nation this season. Ten top-25 teams have yet to face a top-25 opponent.
-South Dakota hosts Southern Illinois for Dakota Days (homecoming) next week

The Notes
South Dakota is looking to get back on track this weekend following a brutal stretch of games in which the Coyotes faced the top three FCS programs and the 16th-ranked FBS team in Kansas State. To do that, the Coyotes will have to defeat an Illinois State team coming off its best win of the season – a road win at UNI – and returning to Normal for homecoming week festivities.

Normal has not been kind to the Coyotes in the past, though South Dakota enjoyed a 27-20 win against the Redbirds last time there during the COVID-shortened spring season in 2021. That was the program's first win in five tries at Hancock Stadium. Carson Camp accounted for all three South Dakota touchdowns and the defense, led by cornerback Myles Harden, forced seven turnovers in the season-opening win.

South Dakota has faced the No. 2 (SDSU), No. 5 (Montana) and No. 8 (NDSU) ranked defenses over the last few weeks. It doesn't get any easier this week with Illinois State, which is ranked 17th defensively. Specifically, the Redbirds' ability to pressure the quarterback has been their strength. The Coyotes' ability to protect their quarterback has been an Anchilles' heel. Quarterback Carson Camp has been sacked 22 times including seven last week against the Jackrabbits.

Camp completed 5-of-12 passes for a career-low 44 yards last week. It was the fewest yards passing by a Coyote team since 2015 when South Dakota completed 4-of-23 passes for 33 yards during blizzard-like conditions at Illinois State in the final game of the season.

Coincidentally, last week was the first time this season South Dakota had its starting offensive line on the field at the same time. Left tackle Alex Jensen missed the first game of the season due to injury. Center Joey Lombard was injured in that first game and didn't return until last week after the bye.

On the other side of the coin, South Dakota hasn't registered a sack in its first two Valley games. Competing against run-heavy offenses in NDSU and SDSU certainly play a role. Illinois State will look to throw more perhaps. The Redbirds have allowed 11 sacks this season, but were clean in last week's win at UNI.

Illinois State quarterback Zack Annexstad is averaging 218 yards passing per game in an offense that is averaging 100 yards rushing. The Redbirds lost all-Valley running back Cole Mueller back in week one. Mueller ran 25 times for 178 yards and a touchdown against South Dakota a year ago in a 20-14 win inside the DakotaDome. Illinois State, with a different signal caller, passed for just 84 yards in last year's game.

Saturday will be a good test to see where South Dakota's defense truly stands. The Coyotes have surrendered a lot of yards on the ground in four losses against power-running teams. The run numbers were considerably better against Cal Poly, but the Mustangs passed for 421 yards in that game and totaled more yards against USD (559) than any foe this season. Cal Poly is the only team that has reached 200 yards passing against South Dakota this year. Illinois State has surpassed 200 yards through the air in each of its last three games.

The Coyotes' best defense Saturday will be a better offense. South Dakota has had 24 possessions its last two games. Fifteen of those drives were three plays or fewer. Six of those 15 short drives ended with turnovers. Third-down conversions, then, will be a necessity. USD is 4-of-24 on third down in Valley play. Illinois State has converted third downs at a 48 percent clip this season, 16th-best nationally.

Running back Travis Theis averaged 61 yards rushing last season and 4.5 yards per carry. He is averaging 74 yards this season and 4.7 yards per carry against elite competition. Shomari Lawrence has spelled Theis to the tune of 49 yards per game and is averaging 5.1 yards per carry. Like Illinois State, South Dakota's leading rusher from last year, Nate Thomas, is out for the season due to injury.

Carson Camp has started all 21 games at quarterback since arriving on campus. The only game he didn't finish was against Illinois State last year, when he was forced to leave early due to injury. Cole Stenstrom replaced Camp and passed for 124 yards and a score against Illinois State. The Coyotes had 1st-and-goal from the 9 late in that game, but was turned away. Stenstrom was intercepted near midfield with 1:42 to go on South Dakota's final possession of that game.

Theis ran 17 times for 72 yards and a score in last year's matchup. The Coyotes lost the turnover battle 3-0. Neither offense generated more than 266 yards. South Dakota had four sacks to one for Illinois State.

Camp is eighth on the Coyotes' all-time passing list with 3,996 yards. Just seven quarterbacks in program history have reached 4,000 yards. Current assistant coach Dante Warren is seventh on the all-time list with 4,361 yards. Jason Seurer is sixth with 4,759 yards.

Theis and tight end JJ Galbreath lead USD with 12 catches. Wide out Wesley Eliodor has a team-high 175 yards on nine catches with two scores. Carter Bell, the team's leading receiver a year ago, has been limited to six catches for 53 yards.

A shining star defensively has been sophomore cornerback Myles Harden, who leads the nation with six forced turnovers, which he accumulated in the first four games of the season. Harden led the nation in passes defended per game during the COVID-shortened season. He had two interceptions and broke up two other passes that year in Normal. Last year, he broke his left halfway through the season. This year, he has three interceptions and forced four turnovers, three of which USD recovered. No other player in the country has forced four fumbles this year. Only seven players have more interceptions.

Linebacker Stephen Hillis ranks 14th nationally in tackles per game (50 in five games). What's impressive there is that Hillis wasn't a starter at the beginning of the season. He entered when Jakari Starling was injured in the season opener at Kansas State. Hillis also didn't play the majority of the game against Cal Poly when a first-half injury forced him to exit. Hillis has one sack and 4.5 tackles-for-loss. His battle with Type-1 diabetes is well documented. He enters play Saturday two tackles shy of 100 for his career.

Brock Mogensen is an all-conference linebacker and a preseason all-American playing alongside Hillis. He had a career-high 15 tackles two games ago against NDSU. He had a team-high 12 stops in the season opener at Kansas State.

Newcomer Michael Scott, a graduate transfer from Akron, has stood out from his rush linebacker position. He leads the team with 3.0 sacks and 6.0 tackles-for-loss, and has the third-most tackles on the team.

For the first time in Bob Nielson's 30 years of coaching, a special teams player has been voted a team captain. That player is all-American long snapper Dalton Godfrey, who doubles as an academic all-American. Godfrey is working with two new specialists this year and both are seniors. Eddie Ogamba, who transferred from Iowa State prior to last season, has won the kicking duties. John Bickle, who had success at Division III Wheaton College last year, is the punter.

South Dakota was one of 10 FCS teams that returned both a kickoff and punt back for a touchdown during the regular season last year. Wesley Eliodor had a 99-yard kickoff return against Missouri State. Carter Bell had a 47-yard punt return for a score against North Dakota State. Bell sprung a 45-yard punt return this season against Cal Poly. Eliodor had a 69-yard return against SDSU last week.

Bickle boasts the third-best punting average in the league and the Coyotes rank 15th nationally in net punting, a category the program has boasted high rankings in for a long time behind Miles Bergner and Brady Schutt. The Coyotes led the nation in net punting during the COVID-shortened season.